MULTAN,July 19th: Two days mango festival concluded at Multan Cotton Research Institute on Tuesday. It was jointly inaugurated by Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan Margaret Adamson and Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Sikandar Hayat Khan.The mango festival was organised by the Muhammad Nawaz Sharif University of Agriculture Multan in collaboration with the Mango Research Institute Multan.Vice Chancellor of the university Professor Dr Asif Ali praised all the stakeholders and organisers for arranging a successful event.“Mango is our prime exporting product and by improving productivity through adoption of modern pre- and post-harvest management techniques, a substantial amount of foreign exchange can be earned,” he told the audience.The high commissioner of Australia said her country and Pakistan had strong linkages in the agriculture sector and several projects of mutual interest were at various stages of development. A new programme worth $12 million had also been launched in Pakistan, he said.Margaret Adamson said that Pakistan and Australia enjoyed cordially relationships in various fields especially in the agriculture sector. She said that she was happy to know that mango was second major fruit of Pakistan. Besides cricket, mangoes were also recognition of Pakistan, she said, and congratulated Pakistanis on excellent victory at the Lords Cricket Ground. Federal Minister for National Security and Research Sikandar Hayat Bosan said Pakistan and Australia had strong ties in the field of agriculture and the government was taking strong initiatives to boost mango production and enhance exports. “We are quite successful in this regard,” he added.It aimed to improve contemporary farm practices, establishing disease free nurseries, improving marketing opportunities and value added chain system, she said and added that training to scientists and farmers was also being managed under the ASLP. She said that scientists of both the countries were sharing their experiences with one another and benefiting the farmers.Nearly 5000 farming families were being supported through this programme in Pakistan, she said. She said that both the countries were also working on dairy and livestock sectors. Like Punjab, Australia was also offering agriculture assistance in Sindh and Balochistan.On this occasion, Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Sikandar Hayat Bosan, MNA Muhammad Khan Daha, MPA Rana Mehmoodul Hassan and others were also present.Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan Margaret Adamson and Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan inaugurated a mango festival.
It was organised by the Muhammad Nawaz Sharif University of Agriculture Multan in collaboration with the Mango Research Institute Multan.
“Mango is our prime exporting product and by improving productivity through adoption of modern pre- and post-harvest management techniques, a substantial amount of foreign exchange can be earned,” he told the audience.
