FAISALABAD: Vice President Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI) Engineer Asim Munir has invited Vice Chancellor University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) Prof Dr. Zulfiqar Ali to visit FCCI for enhancing practical linkages between academia and industry.
He was addressing a ceremony organised to mark the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between UAF and an Indonesian university.
Engineer Asim Munir said that FCCI President Farooq Yousaf Sheikh is determined to strengthen industry-academia collaboration so that the research being conducted at the agriculture university may directly benefit industries particularly those involved in processed and packaged food production.
He appreciated the role of embassies of both countries in promoting such cooperative ventures and said that mutual collaboration would open new avenues for both educational and economic progress.
He said that Pakistan being an agrarian country still lacks adequate value addition in its agricultural produce. By developing agriculture sector on modern lines, the country could not only alleviate rural poverty but also enhance exports, he added.
He however, expressed concerns on pulses import and said that despite being an agricultural nation, Pakistan is importing pulses and other crops which pose a significant challenge.
He highlighted the alarming decline in cotton production and termed it a matter of grave concern as cotton remains the basic raw material for the textile export sector.
He said that soft long-fiber cotton should be cultivated locally to ensure high-quality textile output.
He also stressed the need to expand cultivation of oilseeds particularly olives to reduce heavy reliance on imported edible oils.
Referring to Pakistan’s ranking as fourth-largest milk producer in the world, he lamented that the country still fails to utilize full potential of its dairy sector.
He assured UAF Vice Chancellor that business community of Faisalabad would extend all possible support to the agriculture university to modernize and strengthen agricultural sector.
FCCI Executive Member Muhammad Ali and UAF faculty members were present in the ceremony while senior diplomatic officials from both countries attended it virtually.
