ISLAMABAD: A group of electronic and print media of Islamabad and Rawalpindi region has
witnessed research activities of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) Rawal
Watershed Field Station at Sitrameel and Crop Disease Research Institute (CDRI) Murree during
their exposure visit to these research establishments.
The aim of the exposure visit was to acquaint the media about agri-research and development
activities being carried out at these research components and lab to disseminate further these
Randamp;D activities, new innovations/technologies and information among stakeholders particularly
farming community through media for awareness and adoption to increase productivity of
agriculture sector in the country because “seeing is believing”.
The visit was conducted under media campaign of “Advocacy and Projection of PARC Randamp;D
activities to the stakeholders and in the Electronic and Print Media”. During visit to PARC
Rawal Watershed Field Station (RWFS) at Satrameel, they witnessed various research and
development activities at the station. Dr. Ghani Akbar, Senior Engineer and Project Incharge of
the Station briefed them that the Station is one of the field sites of PARC that stretched over an
area of 19 hectares (47 acres) of land with 42 acres covered with forest trees and 5 acres covered
with high value agriculture.
Various soil and water conservation practices including biological measures (forest, land cover),
engineering measures (loose rock check dams, rainwater harvesting ponds, gabion netted
structures, groundwater recharge through dug wells, solar and gravity driven high efficiency
irrigation systems), livelihood improvement interventions (fruit plants, off-season vegetables
using tunnel farming, nursery raising, cereal crops) have been demonstrated at this site.