30 C
Lahore
Friday, March 29, 2024

Innovation in Cotton Breeding and Biotechnology conference at MNSUA

A two-day Sino-Pak international conference on “Innovation in Cotton Breeding and Biotechnology” commenced at the Muhammad Nawaz Sharif University of Agriculture (MNSUA).

Delegates from China, Malaysia, Turkey and Iran along with national agri scientists attended the conference held under the auspices of Institute of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology in collaboration with Biotechnology Research Institute China, Bahauddin Zakariya University and the Punjab government.

Mr Hussain Jahania Gardezi, Punjab Management and Professional Training Minister speaking on the occasion said that cotton was the future of the country’s economy. The minister informed that three decades ago, Pakistan had produced 12 million cotton bales, regretting that last year the country only produced 10 million bales.

Mr Gardezi explained, “Pakistan is lagging behind in cotton production because technology and breeding system of the crop has changed in the world.” He further added that one cannot avoid the continuous changes in technology the world was bringing in. He said the country had to import cotton to meet domestic demands because it could not match the pace of the world. “Over 50 per cent of Pakistani exports consisted of cotton or cotton items. We could improve our exports if we go for value addition of cotton.” He also said South Punjab was home to cotton and if MNSUA made it a regular feature to organize such international conferences annually, it would attract a lot more scientists from across the globe.

MNSUA Vice-Chancellor Dr Asif Ali highlighted the objective of the conference and announced to make it an annual feature of the varsity. He hoped that the experience of international delegates would be helpful in improving the cotton scenario of the country.

Related Articles

Stay Connected

11,285FansLike
394FollowersFollow
9,170SubscribersSubscribe

Latest Articles