LAHORE: Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan Margaret Adamson said on Thursday that all projects initiated under the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIR) are fundamentally connected to sustainable development.
She said this while addressing a programme held in connection with the World Water Day at a local hotel.
On the occasion, Adamson said, “All of us know how important water is for sustainable existence and future sufficiency is one of the emerging global concerns.”
She further said that there was a need to increase the yield of agricultural commodities, besides conserving water. The balance of the ecosystem had to be maintained at all cost, she added.
The high commissioner also said that Pakistan needed to increase its ranking among food exporting nations, while adding that active participation of women in this connection was essential.
She assured full support of the Australian government for the management of agriculture and water resources in Pakistan and said that Australian Water Programme was an Australian $ 15 million project, that was currently underway in the country.
Speaking on the occasion, the Federal Secretary for Ministry of Science and Technology Yasmin Masood said that under Australian Water Programme, the skillsets of the farmers was being enhanced per modern requirements.
The secretary further said that modern technologies should be adopted for achieving better results and stressed the need for disseminating new, cost-effective and innovative solutions to address water scarcity issue in the country’s agriculture sector.
Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) Chairman Dr Muhammad Ashraf said that the council, in collaboration with its knowledge partners, was taking various initiatives to improve water productivity.
Dr Sandra Mustafa from the University of Canberra said that all farmer learning techniques and technologies and innovations should be incorporated at the earliest.
This year, the theme for World Water Day was ‘Nature for Water’.
