TOBA TEK SINGH: The country imports pulses worth $1 billion every year, which is a matter of concern for an agrarian country, University of Agriculture of Faisalabad (UAF) Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan told a delegation of the 36th mid-career management course of the National Institute of Management, Islamabad, led by Syeda Samreen Zahra.

He said that the university was working on new varieties of chickpea to promote it in irrigated areas and that their production would increase by 500 times.

Now, its average production is five maunds, whereas, with the new agronomic practice, 25 maunds per acre would be attained.

He said there is a misconception about GM soybeans, whereas they are equally good and being used in the developed world.

He said that the university was growing new types of soybeans at farmers’ fields to overcome the import of edible oil and to meet the demands of poultry feed.

He added that the new faculty of humanities and arts is in the making.

He added that the university had planned research to promote the Punjabi language. In this regard, the Waris Shah Chair would be established.

Ms Zahra said that it was the need of the hour to raise the per-acre production so that food security could be ensured. She added that the development of the agriculture sector was a prerequisite for Pakistan’s alleviation of poverty.

She called for the revival of Nizam Din, the legendary broadcaster, and the programme as per modern needs for the agricultural sector. They visited labs and faculties to witness research and development activities.

MARYAM: PML-N central vice president and chief organiser Mariam Nawaz will arrive in Faisalabad on Friday.

She will address her party’s divisional workers’ convention.

RACE: The “Run Faisalabad Run Marathon”, an event of Faisalabad Jashn Baharan was organised on Thursday. It had three categories.

In the first category, Open Marathon started from Canal Road and participants passed through Abdullahpur, Station Chowk, Chenab Club Chowk, and Bilal Road to arrive at the Iqbal Stadium. Up to 650 people participated in the race.

The other two categories, girls’ marathons and under-14 marathons, were participated by 150 athletes, who started from Chenab Club Chowk and both concluded at Iqbal Stadium. Muhammad Tayyab, Aman Fatima and Rehmat Ali won the race.

PROTEST: On the call of the Pakistan Kissan Ittehad (PKI), scores of farmers took out a rally in Jhang on Thursday.

They marched on different roads, and the rally concluded at the DC office, where they staged a sit-in. District PKI president Wajid Ali Naul and others condemned the three sugar mills of the district for delaying payment to sugarcane farmers.

They demanded to reduce Fesco’s power tariff for tubewells. They also demanded to provide fertilizer at a subsidised price.

AIDS SEMINAR: The Government College University of Faisalabad held on Thursday an AIDS Prevention Awareness seminar in collaboration with the Institute of Microbiology and the Punjab AIDS Control Programme.

VC Prof Dr Shahid Kamal said it is our social responsibility to conduct an awareness campaign about the prevention and spread of AIDS, and for this students can play a key role.

Institute of Microbiology’s Prof Dr Hidayat Rasool explained the simple ways to avoid AIDS, such as not using used syringes and blades.

He added that AIDS paralyses the defence system of the human body, however, it is not as common in Pakistan as it is in Africa and India.

Speakers said that to avoid the disease, they should use only tested blood, use a new syringe every time and avoid tattooing on the body.

He said that the people suffering from this disease in society should be told that they can live their lives in a better way as good citizens.

A camp was also set up for diagnosis and screening of AIDS, Corona and other viral infections.

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2023