Climate Change Effects Oil Crops, Causing Production Issues: Dr. Fateh Marri

HYDERABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Mar, 2023 ) :The Vice Chancellor Sindh Agriculture University Tando Jam Dr. Fateh Marri has said that edible oil production problems have increased in Pakistan due to the decrease in the area of oil crops and climatic change.

The situation has led to shortage of edible oil and increase in oil import bill, he said while expressing his views on Tuesday during a PhD seminar titled "Evaluation of sunflower hybrids for yield and oil traits under water stress condition" by Majid Hussain Kaleri, a scholar of the Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics.

Dr. Fateh Marri said that edible oil imports in Pakistan were the second largest capital expenditure after petroleum adding that during first 11 months of the fiscal year ending June 2022, Pakistan's cooking oil imports were 3.56 billion Dollar.

He said Pakistan's dependence on imports of edible oil and oilseeds to meet its domestic demand for edible oil has been increasing over the past two decades.

Dr. Fateh Marri said that during 2020, about 86 percent of the domestic edible oil consumption had to be imported, which is a big challenge for the experts.

Sindh Agriculture University is working on oilseed crops in the light of joint agreements with various national and international institutions, he informed and added the plant breeding and genetics department of the university is performing important research services on the seeds of various crops.

The PhD scholar Majid Hussain Kaleri said in his research that different sunflower were tested on dry and humid soils in different regions and found better production results on less water. There is scope for research work for new commodities of sunflower and other oilseed crops, he said.

He said that agriculture in the country was facing various problems, while the need for oil in human food and lack of quality oil is a major challenge and this research can deal with such issues.

On this occasion, Dean Dr. Inayatullah Rajpar, Deans Dr. Aijaz Ali Khooharo, Dr. Ghiyasuddin Shah Rashid ,Dr. Manzoor Ali Abro, Dr. Zohoor Ahmed Soomro, Director of Nuclear Institute of Agriculture Mehboob Siyal, Director of Aird Research Centre Umer Kot Muhammad Siddique. Director Advanced Studies Dr. Abdul Mubeen Lodhi, Chairman Plant Breeding and Genetics Dr. Shahnawaz Marri, Dr. Wajid Jatoi, eminent agriculturist Karam Khan Kaleri and a large number of teachers, students and experts were also present on the occasion.