LAHORE, A meeting focused on sustainable agriculture development was held at the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) City Campus in Lahore, featuring experts from the Foundation for Agriculture Rurality in the World (FARM) and UVAS. The event aimed to explore various challenges and opportunities in agriculture and food sectors in Pakistan.

According to University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, the meeting was chaired by Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Nasim Ahmed and included notable participants such as Cooperation and Cultural Attache of the Embassy of France in Pakistan Mr. Dylan Gelard, Scientific Director of Farm Foundation Matthieu Brun, Project Officer (FAO) Rana Muhammad Wajid, along with senior faculty members and officers of UVAS. The FARM delegation’s visit to Pakistan is in collaboration with the French Embassy Pakistan and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Discussions at the meeting revolved around the agriculture and food challenges in Pakistan. Topics included potential areas for collaboration, food and agriculture policies, natural resource management, dairy products marketing, food security, production, trade, and food safety. The delegates also talked about investment and collaborative opportunities for research in the agriculture sector and food security in Pakistan.

Prof. Dr. Nasim Ahmed highlighted UVAS’s contribution in providing veterinary and community welfare services across different provinces of Pakistan during the 2022 floods. He mentioned UVAS’s efforts in distributing pregnant dairy animals, including cattle, sheep, and goats, among flood-affected families as part of the UVAS flood relief campaign. This initiative was aimed at uplifting the economic status and potential of the affected families. He emphasized the importance of hands-on support for livestock farmers to increase production through capacity building.

Director Institute of Continue Education & Extension, Dr. Hassan Mahmood Warraich, stressed the significance of social interaction, trust building, value chain, and the adoption of the latest farm practices for enhancing the profitability and production of the livestock farming community.

The meeting underscored the importance of sustainable agriculture development and the need for collaborative efforts to address the challenges faced by the agriculture sector in Pakistan.