US is strongly committed to serve Pakistani people :Zachary Harkenrider

Lahore: Provincial Minister for Agriculture Dr. Farrukh Javed has said that the establishment of Centre for Advanced Studies in Agriculture and Food Security is a step forward in our journey to agricultural stability. He said that Pakistan and the US are enjoying the friendly and long lasting ties and America’s help in developing our agriculture sector is commendable.

He was addressing at the groundbreaking ceremony of USAID funded Centre for Advanced Studies (CAS) in Agriculture and Food Security, University of Agriculture Faisalabad.  U.S. Consul General Lahore, Zachary Harkenrider, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan, former Speaker National Assembly Fakher Imam and CAS Chief of Party Prof Dr Bashir Ahmad also spoke on the occasion.

Dr. Farrukh while lauding the steps being taken by US especially in agriculture and education sector in Pakistan said that 70 percent share in the agriculture sector was coming from the Punjab so this sector needs our utmost attention.

He added that the most of the country population was linked with the agriculture sector and it was contributing 21 percent to the Gross Domestic Product of the country. He said that the Punjab Kissan Package worth Rs 341 billion was the hallmark steps meant for the uplift of the agriculture sector and to address the issues of the farming community. He said that the CAS is the step to boost up the agriculture sector.

U.S. Consul General Lahore, Zachary Harkenrider said on the occasion that the US is strongly committed to serve Pakistani people especially in top priority area including education and agriculture which is the backbone of Pakistan economy.

He said that the US and Pakistan were having unique ties in the different areas of the cooperation that will last forever. He said that the US considers agriculture as the priority area as the large numbers of Pakistani people were associated with the sector.

He said that US was taking tangible efforts to ensure the food security in the region.  He said that CAS worth $30 million in Agriculture and Food Security will help further flourish the sector with tangible researches and capacity building.

It will also bridge the gap between the academia and industry to find the solution to the different issues like climate changes, economic crunch and food security etc. He said that the centre will help the disadvantage people in the field of agriculture.

He said that to address the energy issue, US assisted projects had added up 1700 mega watt to national grid.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said that all possible measures are being taken to ensure the food security and for the development of the rural areas. Talking about the terrorism, he said that Pakistan was the worst victim of the terrorism.

However, all possible steps are being taken to fight with the menace. UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad said that the CAS is the five year project worth 30 million dollar. He said that besides the research and development activities, 500 foreign scholarships were being given under the project.

He said that the USAID funded CAS will open up new area of cooperation to resolve the issues of agricultural sector. He said the CAS five chairs including the Climate Chairs; Bio Technology; Precision Agriculture; Agriculture Policy and Outreach had been set up.