Knowledge-based economy are imperative to address the daunting issues of poverty, agriculture low productivity, unemployment and other challenges, said Dr Muhammad Nawaz, the former Vice Chancellor, University of Veterinary Sciences Lahore.
He was addressing a seminar titled "Collective action for knowledge-based economy" using technology at New Senate Hall, University of Agriculture Faisalabad. He said that innovative ideas, out-of-the-box thinking and latest technology are essential to compete with the rest of the world. He said that development cannot keep pace with population growth due to resources constraints for development activities including health, nutrition, education, employment etc. He said that ever-increasing population in the country was an area of grave concern for which we have to create awareness in the people especially youth.
Talking about other areas, he said that collaborative and intensive efforts were required to meet the sustainable development goals that comprise 17 points of agenda such as poverty and hunger alleviation, ensure healthy lives, and quality education etc. He said that 60 percent of people in Pakistan were living below the poverty lines and 58 percent food insecure households. He said that 25 million of children are not in schools in the country. He said that with the help of information and communication technology, we can disseminate messages and knowledge among the people.
He urged the youth to add beauty to the world with their creativity. He said that the country was blessed with the hardworking and talented people.
Faculty of Veterinary Sciences UAF Dean Dr Zafar Iqbal Qureshi said it is the need of the hour to produce skilled manpower to benefit the mankind and to compete with world advancements including Precision Agriculture, Information Technology, modern disaster management system, Information technology and others areas. He said sustainable agriculture would pave the way to address the issues and to alleviate poverty.