RAWALPINDI - A two-day seminar organized by the Department of Farm Machinery and Precision Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Technology ended, here on Tuesday, at Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi (PMAS-AAUR). Engr. Mansoor explained the optimum use of agriculture tractors that can bring 21% savings in diesel consumption. He said that there are around 500,000 operational tractors in Pakistan, so the total financial implications of this venture could save Rs90 billion which is a huge burden on the exchequer of the country. In the training, he explained the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards incorporated in off-highway diesel engines to neutralize the bad effects of diesel exhaust pollutants such as Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen Oxide causing smog in cities, and particulate matter. Engr. Prof. Dr. Jehanzeb Masood Cheema, Dean Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Technology emphasized that Pakistani agriculture is facing environmental pollution, adverse effects of climate change, water shortages, and other serious problems including the growing population and poor economic potential of farmers. Vice-Chancellor Engr. Prof. Dr. Qamar uz Zaman, in his address, put great emphasis on the industry-academia linkage to address the challenges being faced by our farmers. He stated that the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Department of Farm Machinery and Precision Engineering is working to indigenise gadgets used under the Internet of Things and Geographic Information Systems to develop an economical solution to provide early weather warnings and crop-related instructions to the farmers.
He said that the focus of the Agricultural Engineering faculty is to ensure food security by developing simple and economical solutions for the farming community.