The Agricultural Engineering Institute (AEI) of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) has organized a seminar and training program for rice growers at Daska, Sialkot for enhancing rice yields through education and training on the advantages of utilizing specialized machinery for rice cultivation and harvesting.
The seminar was also aimed to highlight the drawbacks of traditional methods, said a press release issued here on Saturday.
Prominent participants were comprised of Dr Asif Ali Mirani, DG, AED, PARC, Dr Hafiz Sultan Mehmood, Director, AEI, NARC along with experts, researchers, engineers, program leaders and representatives from agricultural organizations.
Dr Ghulam Muhammad Ali, Chairman PARC emphasized the significance of rice as Pakistan’s second major cash crop, following wheat and highlighted the need of using modern farming equipment and high-yielding varieties to enhance productivity and combat the impacts of climate change on the agricultural sector.
Rice cultivation primarily takes place in fertile regions of Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan, providing a livelihood for a significant number of farmers, he said adding that as compared to wheat, rice mechanization in Pakistan was relatively low, leading to delays in sowing and reduced yields due to manual labor.
Moreover, labor shortages caused by urbanization and industrialization pose a significant challenge for farmers, he added.
Dr Ali suggested that adopting mechanization and utilizing head-feeding combine harvesters could provide viable solutions to tackle these issues.—APP
