LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Agriculture Syed Ashiq Hussain Kirmani says digital agriculture is the future of farming and digital networks and social media have become essential for spreading agricultural information in this era.

Collaboration between the public and private sectors is being encouraged, he said while speaking at the signing of an agreement between the Punjab Agriculture Department and Bakhabar Kissan for timely agricultural information for the farmers.

Meanwhile, an agreement with Food Security and Agriculture Centre of Excellence (FACE) was signed to help in farmers’ capacity building, innovations, value chain, and enhance production. The MoU signing ceremony was held at Agriculture House.

The ceremony was attended by Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture Usama Khan Leghari and Agriculture Secretary Iftikhar Ali Sahoo.

The minister said he was confident these agreements would become milestones in the development of the agriculture sector and added that the Punjab Agriculture Department (Extension Wing) would fully support both the companies.

He issued directives to appoint the parliamentary secretary for agriculture as the focal person for programmes under these agreements.

This platform would play a crucial role in introducing modern methods in the agriculture sector, he said. He emphasised the need for swift dissemination of information to farmers, considering the adverse effects of climate change and trends in diverse production.

“This will not only reduce production costs but also increase per-acre crop yield,” he said.

Mr Kirmani said farmers would be provided with information about pest alerts, weather updates and optimal use of fertilisers and water through modern technology, including artificial intelligence.

The event was attended by Bakhabar Kissan CEO Khizar Alam Khan, FACE COO Hassan Akram, FFC marketing head Athar Javed, agriculture department consultant Dr Muhammad Anjum, Additional Secretary Task Force Agriculture Muhammad Shabbir Ahmad, DG Agriculture Extension Chaudhry Abdul Hameed and DG Agricultural Information Naveed Asmat Kahloon.

Published in Dawn, December 20th, 2024