Sustainable growth: ‘Agri experts should come up with doable policy interventions'

Business Recorder

14-06-2025

FAISALABAD: In the face of deteriorating agriculture growth depicted in the Economic Survey of Pakistan, agricultural experts should come up with doable policy interventions for sustainable agricultural growth, said Prof Dr Zulfiqar Ali, Vice Chancellor, University of Agriculture Faisalabad.
Addressing the concluding session of four-week Agricultural Policy Capacity Building Workshop on 'Exploring Perspectives, Analytical Tools, Emerging Trends and Effective Communication in Agriculture' at the Center for Advanced Studies (CAS) Auditorium, Prof Dr Zulfiqar Ali said that the researchers should devise the policies recommendation with the special focus on productivity enhancement, crops diversification, soil health and nutrition, climate smart agriculture, sustainable markets structure, and revitalization of farmers cooperatives, to benefit the farming community and ensure food security.
He said that recent Economic Survey has presented the grim picture of the sector that needs immediate attention of the scientists, industry and other stakeholders.
Punjab Higher Education Commission Chairperson, Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan, said that declining agriculture growth would provoke deep crises that must be addressed with research-based intervention and solid policy measures and its implementation that are crucial to feed the ever-increasing population and alleviate poverty.
He called for greater role of the Universities in generating sound evidence and policy recommendations for all sectors of the economy.
He quoted some social media reports of very low okra price in Kamalia on Eid-ul-Azha due to low demand compared to supply.
He attributed this to lack of value addition options compared with the advance countries and emphasized on the need for research to translate into goods, services and solutions to societal issues. He said that PHEC is committed for the transformation of education and research with special focus on academic opportunities and challenges in age of Artificial Intelligence and digital transformation.
Dr Muhammad Ejaz Qureshi, faculty at the Australian National University, said that the workshop is aimed at enhancing analytical, communication, and leadership capabilities in agricultural policy research; strengthen policy design and implementation skills; improve the quality of research proposals and competitive grants aligned with national development agendas; promote strategic communication through policy briefs and evidence-based storytelling; encourage an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to agricultural policy reform.
Dr Qureshi appreciated the initiative of the University management for arranging such useful activities for the faculty and the students.
He stressed upon the need to transfer these ideas into actions by working together to improve agriculture policies through policy research and generating evidence.
Bangladesh Agriculture University Prof Dr Mohammad Jahangir Alam spoke on agribusiness and food policy, particularly addressing value chain development and nutrition security in emerging economies. He said to improve food security in developing countries, we need to build strong value chains in agriculture. Connecting farmers to the markets can help increase income and ensure better nutrition for communities.
Dr Sumaira Ejaz Qureshi, faculty at University of Canberra in Australia, discussed about translating complex data into sound policy decisions through a case study of student and faculty feedback to enhance quality of education.
Dr Zeena Alsamarra'I, University of Canberra explained that future of education in the era of AI and digital transformation.
She focused on institutionalizing Generative AI and making sound policies so that the academic community can get benefit from positive side of AI driven technological disruption. She emphasized capacity building of faculty and the students in age of digital transformation.
Prof Dr Asif Kamran, Director of Agriculture Policy and Outreach, explained that the Agriculture Policy, Law and Governance Center at UAF is committed to continuous engagement with policy think tanks and policy makers and to build the capacity of the students and faculty to conduct policy research and craft sound policy recommendations based on their research.
Prof Kamran acknowledged funding support from Endowment Fund Secretariat, USDA; Pak Korea Nutrition Centre (PKNC), Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research (ACIAR) under CSIRO implemented project entitled 'Climate resilient and adaptive water allocation in Pakistan.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025