STAFF REPORT ISB: Use of information technology to enhance agricultural production is need of the hour as has been successfully experienced in the developed states.
This was told by Dr. Muhammad Imtiaz, CIMMYT Country Representative to Pakistan while addressing a workshop at NARC, Islamabad, on role of ICT in agricultural production and its challenges for technology transfer in Pakistan.
In his remarks, Prof. Dr. Babar Shahbaz, Project Manager (ICT), briefed the audience about the role of ICT in agriculture sector in terms of enhancing per acre yield.
He emphasized that the ICT use has increased average yield manifolds in developed countries and adoption of ICT techniques to spread useful agriculture information to farming community can have huge impact on agriculture production in Pakistan.
Dr. Arif, District Officer Agriculture (Ext.) Rawalpindi, said that although agriculture extension services are available for farming community at UC and village level but increase in farmer population has made it more important to use ICT to reach out to large number of farmers within limited time period.
Dr. M. Imtiaz said that keeping in view the cultural and social constraints tools of latest ICT should be reached to female farmers which are majority of the farming community.