A Cooperative & Networking Tour To Dist. Bhakkar

As the Agri. Education Pakistan is going to expand its niche, a cooperative & networking tour was planned to Dist. Bhakkar. It is one of the dynamic city of Southern Punjab. Mr. Jafrey (President, AEP) set on his journey from Lahore to Bhakkar on Aug. 22, 2013 and came back to Lahore on Aug. 25, 2013. The Kallurkot and its countryside areas, Rodi and Hassanwala were focused on this tour, as the Kallurkot is tehsil of Dist. Bhakkar and administrative subdivision of the district. 

Objectives

·         To introduce Agri. Education Pakistan and its projects in the area

·         To assess the awareness regarding sustainable agriculture and th environmental concerns

·         To assess the environmental issues

·         To know the agricultural problems

Also the purpose was to analyze;

·         The socioeconomic conditions

·         Farmer status

·         Availability of farm inputs

·         Work efficiency of Govt. Agriculture Dept.

·         Strength of Educational Institutes (schools & colleges etc.)

·         Potential for organizing an event in near future

To achieve the goal, Mr. Jafrey (President, AEP) attend meetings with 10 individuals from different fields of agriculture and business including; farmers, pesticide traders and Govt. Agriculture Extension Department’s official in stay of only two days.

1.      CSR Officer Mr. Habib-ur-Rehman Jafrey, Zong Telecom Franchise

2.      Asst. Botanist Mr. Malik Mushtak, Gram Breeding Research Station    

3.      Mr. Rana Imran, Tarzan Pesticide Trader

4.      Mr. M. Hassan, Tara Pesticide Trader  

5.      Mr. Abdullah, Target Pesticide Trader

6.      Deputy Director Mr. Muhammad Ashraf, Deputy Directorate Office of Agriculture Extension

7.      Mr. M. Wahid Khan, Farmer from Rodi, Kallurkot       

8.      Mr. Ahmad Hassan Khan, Farmer from Rodi, Kallurkot

9.      Mr. Sami Ullah Khan s/o Ahsan Ullah Khan, Progressive Farmer from Hassanwala, Kallurkot            

10.  Mr. Ashfaq Khan, Progressive Farmer from Hassanwala, Kallurkot

Problems In The Concern Areas

·         Black Marketing of Fertilizers

·         Bogus Pesticides

·         Cotton Insect/pest

·         Unavailability of Soil Nutrient Test Laboratory

·         Unaligned Water Courses

·         Scarcity of irrigation water for Rabi season

·         Negligence of officials of Govt. Agriculture Dept. in Rodi and Hassanwala

·         Environmental concerns regarding Chashma Nuclear Plant

·         Difficult access to certified seed and other inputs in the areas of Rodi and Hassanwala

Summary

Agri. Education Pakistan is the Pakistan’s first student based organization working in the central and particularly in the areas of southern Punjab. The activities were started from the Lahore in 2011 from a single website. Now the area of the activities is expanding day by day. This cooperative and networking tour is a milestone to ensure the consistent progress.

Bhakkar District (Urdu: ضِلع بهكّر‎) is a District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The district was created in 1981 with Bhakkar city. With an area of 3,134 square miles (8,120 km2), most of it lies in the desolate plain of the Thal, but the Kachhi or strip of riparian land along the Indus is of great fertility. However it is in arid zone. Its area consists of a riparian tract along the Indus called Kacha and the Thal historically called Chol-e-Jalali. Most of its area comprises greater Thal. One of the old place in the district is Kallurkot. Kallurkot Tehsil (Urdu: تحصِيل كلُوركوٹ) is a Tehsil of Bhakkar District in Punjab, Pakistan. The city of Kallurkot is the headquarters of Kallurkot Tehsil an administrative subdivision of the district.

The main crop is cotton of the area. Mostly B.T Cotton is cultivated which has been banned but still under practice due to inefficiency or negligence of Govt. Agriculture Department. Farmers are facing the problems of black marketing of fertilizers, bogus pesticides, cotton Insect/pest, unavailability of soil nutrient test laboratory, unaligned water courses, scarcity of irrigation water for Rabi season, negligence of officials of Govt. Agriculture Dept. in Rodi and Hassanwala however, the pesticide companies rarely conduct programs for selling their product to the farmers,  environmental concerns regarding Chashma Nuclear Plant which is not so far from these areas, difficult access to certified seed and other inputs in the areas of Rodi and Hassanwala.

In Kallurkot farmers are usually poor to average, while in Rodi and Hassanwala farmers are comparatively average to progressive in the terms of socioeconomic status. The farmers of Rodi and Hassanwala are seemed to be more sophisticated than farmers of Kallurkot, as they are keen grower of organic crops for their kitchen. They avoid the vegetables from market of Kallurkot due to the usual practice of application of brackish water for vegetable field’s irrigation. Even some of them grow Barani varieties of wheat for their home. All the advancement, particularly in Hassanwala is achieved by the farmers on their own. Farmers are much conscious about the environmental hazards producing by the Chashma Nuclear Plant which is not so far from their fields.

The meetings with pesticide traders and official of the Govt. Agriculture Extension Dept. ended up with the surety of complete cooperation and coordination in the cause of Agri. Education Pakistan in the Dist. Bhakkar.