Pakistan Academy of Sciences (PAS) President Prof Dr Atta-ur-Rahman has said that Pakistani scientists are working in the field of Biosaline Agriculture to grow wheat, maize, rice and other crops by using sea water.
“The country is already suffering from water shortage. Global warming will cause massive droughts within 20 years worldwide. Socio-economic development is no longer dependent on natural resources; knowledge has become the main driving force of world economies.”
He was delivering an online lecture titled “The Thrilling World of Discovery” at Prof Salimuzzaman Siddiqui Auditorium, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi (UoK).
The National Academy of Young Scientists (NAYS), Pakistan, and International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences jointly organised the lecture on account of World Science Day for Peace and Development.
Prof Rahman, who is also a former chairman of the Higher Education Commission Pakistan, said that scientists at ICCBS were working day and night on various sciences’ fronts, while research on Biosaline Agriculture was a part of these efforts. He said the establishment of Jamil-Ur-Rahman Center for Genomic Research at ICCBS-UoK would definitely help the scientists engaged in research work on biosaline agriculture.
He said the countries like China, Singapore, Korea and Taiwan had realised the phenomenon that the knowledge became the main driving force of world economies and they made great progress. Pakistan needs also to follow the footprints of these countries in terms of achieving advancement on the economic front, he said.
“The world has made wonderful progress in the field of science and technology. By using Nanotechnology, bullet proof paper are being made which are stronger than steel. These papers are being used for making bullet proof jackets. In about 10 years, people will all be wearing E-Textiles which shows wonders of science,” he said.
Prof Rahman also reminded the audience about the great progress made in the field of science and higher education sector, when he was chairman of HEC and federal minister for science and technology.
“Around 6,000 per cent increase was made in the country’s budget of science and technology. Conversely, about 3,500 per cent increase was also made in the budget of higher education. Nearly 11,000 scholars were awarded PhD, post-doctoral, split PhD etc degrees. Mostly scholars were sent Europe for higher learning”, he added
