Message of the Dean

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Faculty of Agriculture at PMAS Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi which is the major faculty among all the academic units at this higher learning Institution. At present, the faculty comprises eighty (80) faculty members who are highly qualified. Sixty eight (68) faculty members hold Ph.D. degrees from inland and foreign countries USA, UK, Germany, China, France, and Australia. With our dynamic team we strive to make the faculty an institution of choice for teaching, learning and research, in the field of agriculture i.e. Agriculture Extension, Agronomy, Entomology, Horticulture, Plant Breeding & Genetics and Plant Pathology. All these eight departments have been accredited by National Agriculture Education Accreditation Council of HEC. Our objective is to train the manpower for academia, agriculture research organization, Agri. Extension services to farming community, Fertilizer Industries, Insecticide Industries and sugarcane industries.

This faculty has produced 70 Ph. D. and 850 M. Sc. (Hons.) student. It has also produced 2300 graduates. Now 950 students are enrolled in undergraduate degree, 300 are enrolled in M. Sc. (Hons.) Agriculture and 101 are enrolled in Ph. D Agriculture.

I cordially invite you to visit and learn more about the departments by exploring the website or visit our campus. We will help you to fulfill your educational goals.

Dean        

About

Agriculture is the Back bone of Pakistan. Agriculture is mainstay of Pakistan's economy. It accounts for 21% of the GDP and together with agro-based products fetches 80% of the country's total export earnings. More than 48% of the labour force is engaged in this sector. The Punjab province has about 29% of the total reported, 57% of the total cultivated and 69% of the total cropped area of Pakistan. It contributes a major share in the agricultural economy of the country by providing about 83% of cotton, 80% of wheat, 97% fine aromatic rice, 63% of sugarcane and 51% of maize to the national food production. Among fruits, mango accounts for 66%, citrus more than 95%, guava 82% and dates 34% of total national production of these fruits.

The concept of scientific farming in the rainfed areas is a recent phenomenon. Particularly, the concept of farming on commercial scale in this area has always been both uncertain and risky. Focus, before and after partition, therefore continued on irrigated agriculture. When the irrigated areas failed to produce the food requirements of the ever growing population of the country, the Barani areas were looked upon as possible alternative of establishing the Punjab Barani Commission in 1975 to examine the possibilities of exploring the rich resources of the rainfed areas.

It was on the recommendation of this Commission that the Government of the Punjab established Barani Agricultural College during 1980. The college gained national as well as international reputation. Barani College not only withstood all adversaries and hazards but attained the level of excellence to become a university during 1994. The University of Arid Agriculture, Rawalpindi ordinance was promulgated by the Governor of Punjab in December 1994 while the University Act was passed by the Punjab provincial Assembly in May 1995 and University initiated its first academe program from October 1995.

Faculty of Agriculture is the major faculty among all the academic units. The faculty offers courses of four years duration leading to the degree of B.Sc (Hons) Agriculture, and two years duration leading to M.Sc (Hons) Agriculture. Ph.D. programe in almost all disciplines of agriculture i. e. Agriculture Extension, Agronomy, Entomology, Horticulture, Plant Breeding & Genetics and Plant Pathology.

Vision

The vision of faculty is "Gateway to future of rain-fed Agriculture knowledge".