Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with IFPRI organized a two days consultative workshop on improving the agriculture extension services in Pakistan on March 8 at Marriot Hotel in Islamabad.
The workshop reviewed the existing agriculture extension services, mechanisms and approaches adopted by the provincial agriculture departments and other institutions and organizations in order to identify ways to improve the agriculture extension services.
Speaking at the opening session of the stakeholders’ workshop , Mr Fazal Abbas Maken, Secretary Ministry of National Food Security and Research emphasized that agricultural research needs to be directed towards finding ways to meet the demands of our farmers. Building resilience of our communities to climate change is important in this connection, he said.
Welcoming participants to the workshop, Ms. Mina’ Dowlatchahi, FAO Representative in Pakistan said: “To reach those who can transform the agriculture sector, it is essential to modernize the agri-extension services by adopting a multi-sectoral integrated approach to knowledge and systems through use of Information and Communication Technologies and other sustainable agriculture practices. FAO is playing its part by providing active support in policy making to improve and strengthen agri-extension services and to ensure that no one is left behind.”
Participants included representatives from Federal and Provincial ministries of Climate Change and National Food Security and Research, agriculture extension departments, Pakistan Meteorological Department, IFPRI, international and international organizations.
The workshop suggested appropriate holistic mechanisms and approaches for timely and effective dissemination of agriculture, water and climate related information to the farming communities through various means including modern ICT.