President Dr. Arif Alvi said that Rice crop is a sensitive crop from seed germination till final outcome phase. He added that the global demand of Rice had been surging every year and in order to cope with the modern requirements, necessary steps must be taken. The President was addressing the awards distribution ceremony arranged by the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan, REAP, at Governor House Karachi. He said that the rice crop of Pakistan was of outstanding quality in 1970s and was admired around the world. The President said that Pakistan faced problems in cultivation of Rice owing to shortage of water. "Research must be done in the field of mechanized farming and agronmics in order to improve the yield of rice besides converting it from water-expensive crop to low or moderate water consuming crop" urged the President. The President added that losses in the cultivation of rice crop must be eradicated and he emphatically called for submitting a holistic proposal, categorically catering the issues of rice industry, so that improvement in crop quality could be achieved. He also urged for indigenous research in improving the Rice cultivation techniques in the institutions of Pakistan. While highlighting the issues of Karachi he added that transportation and water were the two major issues confronted by the citizens of Karachi and they could be resolved by an efficient liason between the federal and provincial government. The President lauded the role of Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan for scaling up the Rice exports to Rs. 2 billion. ***
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