Chitral Times Report
Peshawar :The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations handed over PRI (primary Rate Interface) IT equipment to Agriculture Extension Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with financial support from United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to support tele-messaging service for farmers in newly merged districts of the province under “Restoring Subsistence and Commercial Agriculture” programme.
The ceremony was held in Peshawar at Agriculture Extension Department, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where Mina Dowlatchahi, FAO Representative in Pakistan handed over IT equipment to Secretary Agriculture Dr. Muhammad Israr Khan. Primary Rate Interface system with amplified frequency rate will aid tele-farming messaging to far-flung areas of tribal districts where current information system is inept to reach. The system will work through Model Farm Service Centers (MFSCs) established and controlled by Agriculture Extension Department at district level in merged areas where more than 15000 farmers have registered for farming information assistance. More farmers will be able to register through PRI system for advisory services ass there is limited service of various Telco’s in the merged districts, so the extension of the current system is not possible without arranging the system’s own PRI.
“Providing these PRI equipment is in line with our global vision to use digital innovation in promoting and developing agriculture for food security and nutrition”, said Mina Dowlatchahi, FAO representative in Pakistan.
Secretary Agriculture appreciated the collaboration of FAO in developing agriculture sector in KP and lauded the efforts for provision of the PRI equipment that will improve outreach of Agriculture Department to farming communities in far flung areas of the province saying that it is important to develop dissemination model to re-align research with animal rearing and crops variety development.
This assistance will go a long way in strengthening FAO cooperation with Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in outreaching the farmers with tele-messaging for good agricultural practices including time of individual crops sowing, methods of sowing, seed rate, good quality seed, safe usage of fertilizer and agrochemicals, harvesting, reduction of pre and postharvest losses, and livestock management. It will cover agronomic crops, vegetables, fruits, fodder and all that is grown and cultivated in various parts of Tribal districts. The facilitation will help in strengthening the teleworking of Bureau of Agriculture Information (BOAI) for outreach to farmers in Tribal Districts of KP. At present, BOAI works under Directorate General of Agriculture Extension in KP.
For agriculture sector, an efficient and competitive sustainable agriculture with ability to contribute to the economic development and poverty alleviation and ensuring food security is need of time. The achievement of the goals can be attained through the application of science and technology and sustainable management of natural resources.
