VC Sindh Agriculture University addressing 3 days workshop

by Akram Ranjhani
Hyderabad: Vice Chancellor, Sindh Agriculture University, Dr. Fateh Marri has said that the effects of rains and floods will you continue to be seen for a long time, and better planning is needed to complete projects for the rehabilitation of agriculture and people in Sindh.He said while addressing to the 3-days capacity building training workshop on the Preparation of Resettlement Action Plan under “Institutional Strengthening of Project Coordination &Monitoring Unit (PCMU)” for Water-related policies & Practices, focusing Sindh Water & Agriculture Transformation (SWAT) Project. The workshop is hosted by Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam, in collaboration with Project Coordination and Monitoring Unit, Planning and Development, Government of Sindh.The workshop is organized to train the officers of different departments of Government of Sindh, including Agricultural Research and Extension, Agricultural Marketing, Irrigation, Sindh Irrigation & Drainage Authority, AWB, Planning & Development and others for improving water management and agriculture in the future.Dr. Fateh Marri said that the rehabilitation of agriculture in Sindh and the infrastructure destroyed due to floods should be built keeping in mind the potential disasters, while better use of water and underwater agricultural resources need to be solved on a prospective basis. He said that due to the lack of proper strategy in the RBOD and LBOD projects, the project has not yet reached completion due to which the floods of 2010, 2011 and 2022 could not be dealt with. He said that we have to adopt alternative methods of agriculture while experimenting with canal agriculture as well as arid agriculture.Ghulam Mustafa Ujjan, General Manager SIDA, said that experts and administrative heads and delegates from various institutions have been included in this workshop, and this training workshop will yield positive results, and especially for flood victims and irrigation related matters.Dr. Islamuddin Rajput, Director, Agricultural Extension said that the Sindh Agriculture University and the agricultural and extension institutions of the province will jointly formulate new proposals for the maintenance of agriculture and irrigation.Manzoor Ahmed Baloch, Director General, Agriculture Marketing Sindh, said that due to floods, agricultural production and especially agricultural costs have increased, while certified seeds are also a major issue.Dr. Muhammad Ismail Kumbhar, Director, University Advancement and Financial Assistance said that plans, projects, budget and expenses will also be determined for this occasion.Before that, Dr. Jam Ghulam Murtaza Sahito, Training organizer said that this is the first of the four trainings to be organized by Sindh Agriculture University, in collaboration with PCMU, P&D Govt. of Sind, and there will be 9 interactive technical sessions in this training workshop for university experts, agriculture, irrigation, P&D and SIDA officials, followed by question-and-answer sessions. Dr. Tahmina Nagraj, Sarfraz Ahmed Bhutto, Dr. Zahid Oad, Ayaz Ali Jalalani, Miss Afshan, Miss Shakeela Leghari, Aftab Memon, Tariq Dahraj and others also spoke on this occasion.