HYDERABAD, May 1: Sindh Minister for Agriculture Syed Ali Nawaz Shah has said that due to acute shortage of water in Sindh, agriculture sector has received a major setback and inferior quality of seeds, fertilisers and pesticides has further aggravated the situation.

He was speaking at the concluding session of a three-day training course organised by the Institute of Food Sciences and Technologies, Sindh Agriculture University, on the production of chilli and its preservation at the campus here on Wednesday.

He called upon the scholars to conduct exhaustive research on agricultural and said that in this regard he would recommend to the government to extend financial help.

The minister said that the federal government would be informed about the reservations of Sindh on water issue and all other matters pertaining to the agriculture.

He said research was extremely necessary to make brackish water useable for crops otherwise the people would starve due to acute shortage of water.

Speaking on the occasion, the vice-chancellor of university, Dr Basheer Ahmed Shaikh, said that the agriculture sector was functioning on the ad hoc bases in the country as a result of which appreciable results had not been achieved.

He said in Sindh 90 per cent of the underground water had turned brackish and was not fit for human consumption and added that the soil fertility had also deteriorated.

Quoting a World Bank report, Dr Shaikh said that in the next 10 years, South Asia would be facing a dangerous situation due to acute shortage of food and water. According to the report, he said, two billion people were in the grip of hunger.

He said that poor quality fertilizer, seeds and pesticides were being sold in Sindh and added that they were turning rich agricultural lands into deserts and also destroying the environment.

Due to non-preservation of some vegetables, Dr Shaikh said, the country was facing huge losses. He urged upon the government to pay attention to the construction of cold storage facilities. The agriculture department, he said, should provide agricultural machinery to growers at half rates in view of acute shortage of water.

The director of the institute, Dr Sagheer Ahmed Shaikh and Mohammad Ismail Kumbhar also spoke on the occasion.

Later, the minister distributed certificates among the trainees.

MEMBERS ELECTED: Sindh University teachers have elected new representatives as members of Syndicate on Wednesday.

Mohammad Saleh Rajar, Registrar of the University, acted as election officer.

According to unofficial results Dr Anwar Ali Shah G. Syed, Dean Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration was elected as member Syndicate on seat of Professor who obtained 42 votes while his opponent Dr Abdul Shakoor Qureshi obtained 39 votes. On a seat for Associate Professor, Syed Abdul Ghaffar Shah Rashidi elected member Syndicate who obtained 17 votes while his opponent Syed Anwar Ali Shah obtained 13 votes.

On a seat for Assistant Professor, Khalid Noor Panhwar was elected as Syndicate member who obtained 84 votes while his opponent Akram Ansari obtained 70 votes.