Farmers in the country will get the latest Smart IoT Farm technology in agricultural science to increase their per acre yield according to the Minister for Agriculture Punjab, Syed Hussain Gardezi. He said this on the occasion of the opening ceremony of the University Research Farm (URF) at Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi (AARU) in Rawalpindi on Saturday. “The objective of introducing such latest technology in agriculture is to inform the farmer in real time of the needs of the crop at that particular time. This is precision technology that will help the farmers on the national level,” he said.

The event was attended by other academic experts in agriculture from various universities across the country. They included AAUR Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Qamar-uz-Zaman, Vice Chancellosr University of Agriculture Faisalabad Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan, PCSIR Chairman Dr Syed Hussain Abidi, Executive Director SDPI Dr Abid Sulehri, Ex-Provincial Minister Sindh Hassan Ali Chandio, Progressive farmer Afaq Ahmad Tiwana, faculty members, deans, directors, students, and farmers.

Because of outdated methods in farming, a lot of precious time and land is wasted in growing and reaping the yield. Modern methods of farming if applied will help the farmers to increase their productivity with the application of precision technology, said the Minister for Agriculture Punjab. He emphasized the need for bridging the gap between academia and farmers. He said that it is important to reach out to farmers and make them aware of the latest technology and how to use it.

“Pakistan will become self-sufficient in food and will also be able to export its produce if modern methods of agriculture are adopted on a priority basis,” he said. He also appreciated the efforts and success of AAUR Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr Qamar-uz-Zaman & his team for establishing such an important technological farm to train and upgrade the agricultural sector in Pakistan. This is the first time that such modern precision technology is adopted by a university in Pakistan. The minister stressed the need to update data on the back end on daily basis.

Further, the minister thanked the Punjab cabinet for allocating funds for the project and also inaugurated the farm. He saw the demo operations of smart spray, drone technology, GNSS land levelling system, auto-steering technology, automatic irrigation system and other precision farming. Prof. Dr Qamar-uz-Zaman stressed the need for more collaborations between industry and the academia so that modern research can help industry in upgrading its methods of production. He said that it is the duty of agriculture scientists to make sure that they introduce modern practices in the industry through research and collaborations.

“Precision technology in agriculture will increase the productivity of per acre cultivation and will also make us a food secure country. Climate change and population increases have made it important that we embrace modern solutions to modern problems,” he said. He highlighted the effort of Prof. Dr Jahanzeb Masud Cheema and Dr Naveed Tahir that they put in for making Smart IoT Farm a reality. He hoped that the farm will improve the standards of living of many small farmers. Other attendees congratulated the AAUR faculty and Vice Chancellor for the Smart IoT Farm which will make farming a more environment-friendly and profitable venture for the people.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk