Biosaline agriculture workshop aims to empower Thar farmers

• KU organized a farmers’ training workshop.
• GM Thar Foundation Farhan Ansari was chief guest.
• Farmers can enhance their crop yields through biosaline.

KARACHI: The Institute of Sustainable Halophyte Utilization of the University of Karachi in collaboration with the Pakistan Science Foundation and Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company, organized a farmers’ training workshop on biosaline agriculture titled “Improving Salinity Tolerance of Conventional and Non-conventional Crops Under Extreme Environmental Conditions” at the Excellence Centre of Mining SECMC.

The General Manager of Thar Foundation Farhan Ansari was the chief guest at the event and delivered a welcoming speech. He appreciated the training workshop to educate local farmers about biosaline agriculture and emphasized the importance of continuing such initiatives in the future. He commended KU Professor Dr Bilquees Gul for her work on the biosaline agriculture project with SECMC.

Earlier, Prof Dr Gul informed the participants that the objective of this biosaline agriculture training workshop was to empower local farmers with knowledge and skills to help them thrive in the challenging Thar environment

“By adopting biosaline agriculture, farmers can not only enhance their crop yields but also mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change and water scarcity on their livelihoods.”

During the workshop, Dr Bilquees Gul emphasized the importance of utilizing salt-tolerant crops to maximize agricultural productivity while conserving water. The farmers were provided hands-on training on soil management, irrigation techniques, and crop selection, enabling them to implement these sustainable practices in their farms.

She expressed her gratitude to SECMC for their support in the biosaline agriculture project and acknowledged the funding provided by the Pakistan Science Foundation. She highlighted the seriousness of the global food security problem, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions, where freshwater resources are dwindling and arable land is decreasing.

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Dr Gul also emphasized the need to address this issue by exploring biosaline agriculture and utilizing degraded lands and saline water resources to produce food, fodder, and edible oil sustainably.