Jahanian Gardezi, former minister of Agriculture, Punjab, Pakistan, led the delegation.
While addressing the gathering, Ambassador (retd) P S Sahai, principal advisor to Punjab’s Centre said, “Relation between the farmers of the two countries is an important confidence-building measure as agriculture is the mainstay of the economy for both the sides of Punjab. The visit by the Pakistani delegation is a follow-up of exchange of visits by farmers and a workshop on ‘Infrastructure Linkages’ held in Chandigarh in May 2006.
The delegation comprises farmers, legislators, industrialists, businessmen, academicians, scientists, bankers and media representatives.
Gardezi said that 92 per cent of Pakistan’s agriculture depended on canal irrigation, which was quite efficient, and hardly 8 to 10 per cent relied on tubewell irrigation.
He invited Indian farmers and agriculture establishments and institutes to lead a delegation of progressive farmers to study the cropping pattern of Pakistan. He said steps should be initiated for technology transfer between the Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana and Agricultural University in Faislabad, especially in the crops of cotton.