TOBA TEK SINGH: Thousands of students of the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) on Monday left for rural areas in five divisions of Punjab as part of a 13-day wheat campaign being conducted to guide farmers about crop sowing and better yield.

During the drive, launched by the UAF, in collaboration with Punjab Agriculture Extension Department, the farmers will be provided experts’ recommendations, information about the latest trends, use of environment-friendly technology and answers to their agricultural problems.

The UAF studentsfrom Postgraduate and undergraduate programmes will run the drive in Lahore, Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Gujrat and Gujranwala divisions till Nov 30.

The students will work under the supervision of agricultural experts in the fields in various villages across the five divisions.

UAF Vice Chancellor Dr Muhammad Sarwar Khan said this campaign would not only benefit the farmers but also provide students with valuable hands-on experience in addressing agricultural challenges.

He said the university, in collaboration with the Washington State University, has introduced new wheat varieties that are compatible with the crop productivity enhancement world over.

Dr Ghulam Murtaza is the convener of the campaign committee while the coordinators for the different division include Dr Riaz Virk, Dr Shahid Ibne Zamir, Dr Asim Aqeel, Dr Zahid Abbas, and Dr Tahir Munir Butt.

Moreover, in an event at the Ayub Agricultural Research Institute held in connection with wheat campaign, Principal Officer Dr Jalal Arif, Dr Shahid Ibne Zamir, Dr Muhammad Naveed, Director Agricultural Extension Khalid Mehmood, Director Wheat, Dr Javed Ahmad, MPA Rao Kashif addressed a gathering.

Rao Kashif said the government was making all-out efforts to address the agricultural challenges and facilitate the farming community by introducing Kissan package and agricultural reforms. Khalid Mehmood said that last year, the per acre wheat production in Faisalabad had been increased by two maunds per acre and hoped that this year the drive would also have tangible results.

GCUF: An information session was organised by the Government College University Faisalabad (GCUF), in collaboration with Campus France -- a French government agency dedicated to promoting higher education worldwide under the umbrella of the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research & the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

Mr Mir Hamza Khan Khattak, Manager Campus France, Lahore office, was the resource person who guided the students about the degrees programmes conducted in English in France, scholarship opportunities and visa process.

He asked the students to be careful in taking admission in non-accredited educational institutions in France to avoid the visa rejection.

Afterwards, the officials met with Vice Chancellor Dr Rauf-I-Azam to discuss various collaborative opportunities between the GCUF and France.

Dr Muhammad Kamran Khan, Coordinator of Pak-France Alumni Network, Dr Muhammad Sheraz Malik, Director Students Affairs, Dr Mahr-un-Nisa, Director Industrial Linkages and Dr Muhammad Haseeb Ahmad were also present.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2024