ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Food, Agriculture and Livestock, Nazar Muhammad Gondal, has said that there is a great need to modernise agriculture with the effective use of science and technology, and Pakistan greatly needs help and cooperation from the US in this regard.

Gondal stated this while talking to the Adviser to US Secretary of State on Science & Technology Dr Nina Fedoroff. Food shortage is an international problem and it needs cooperation and collaboration, said the minister, adding that in spite of self-sufficiency in food items Pakistan is facing a shortage because of smuggling to the neighbouring food-deficient countries.

Gondal said that the government is working on the initiative of “Green to Gene Revolution” and needs scientific and technological support from the US especially in bio-technology, so that there is an increase in agricultural productivity and improvement in seed technology.

The minister said, “We want technology transfer from the US through more scholarships to students and on-job training to our technical experts in the field of agriculture.”