RAWALPINDI: Speakers at a workshop stressed the need for mobilising rural women to enhance pulse production to overcome the food shortage.

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       The workshop on ‘Role of Rural Women in Pulse Production’ was organised by ACIAR Pulses Project-041, here on Monday, at Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi.

       The objective of this workshop was to discuss role of women in pulse production, various issues women face in agriculture with a focus on pulse production, and to set priorities for future agricultural collaborations in order to enhance pulse production in Pakistan.

       Vice Chancellor of Arid varsity Prof Dr Mohammad Naeem was the chief guest while seven academicians, experts and entrepreneurs from Charles Sturt University and Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), also joined this workshop as guests.

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       Arid varsity Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Muhammad Naeem, appreciated the efforts of the project team for arranging such a nice opportunity to train rural women and their role in pulse production.

       He said that he had been participating in a number of activities and initiatives of this project in the field also and shared that this project has been providing better awareness and services to the farmers of Attock and Chakwal districts.

       He urged the ACIAR Project Management to devise a workable phasing-out strategy of this project for sustainability of the services developed for the area.

       Dr Penny Heuston from ACIAR, acknowledged the project’s efforts for mobilizing rural women in enhancing pulse production. She also shared a comparative role of Australian and Pakistani women in Agriculture.

       Earlier, Dr Ataul Mohsin, in his opening remarks, welcomed the participants. Mr Israr Hussain in his presentation talked about the role of rural women in pulse production.

       Dr Shaid Riaz talked about the effective participation of women in pulse production in Pakistan. He suggested measures to enhance female participation at farm level to enhance pulse production.

       Dr Sajida Taj, a senior scientist at NARC, also delivered her presentation about the issues women face in agriculture especially in pulse production.

       Later, Shields and Certificates were awarded to the guests and participants and the workshop ended with a vote of thanks by Dr Zahid AkramChairman, Dept. of Plant Breeding & Genetics.

       Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2023