Press Releases 2007
USAID-Funded Extrusion Center At Faisalabad’s Agriculture Varsity Inaugurated
11/07/2007
Faisalabad – The U.S. Consulate Lahore’s Principal Officer, Bryan Hunt,
and the Punjab Governor, Lt. General (Ret.) Khalid Maqbool, today
inaugurated the Extrusion Center at the National Institute of Food
Science and Technology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad.
“Agriculture
accounts for the largest sector of Pakistan’s economy and employs more
than 42 percent of the country’s labor force. The ability to create
value-added food products has the potential to impact the lives of
millions of Pakistanis,” said Mr. Hunt. “The University of Agriculture,
Faisalabad’s new Extrusion Center will help move Pakistan’s agriculture
sector toward that end.”
The center is the product of
collaboration between the University of Agriculture, the United States
Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. National Academy
of Sciences, Pakistan’s Ministry of Science and Technology, and
Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission.
The Extrusion Center
will train and equip Pakistani scientists, students, and food and feed
industry personnel in the field of extrusion technology. The center
will also foster linkages with the private food industry, develop
advanced-level degree curricula and research projects in extrusion
technology, and create new food and feed products using local materials.
The
$389,000 Extrusion Center was established as part of the USAID-funded
$6.9 million Pakistan-U.S. Science and Technology Cooperation Program.
The program provides grants to support collaborations between Pakistani
and U.S. scientists, engineers, and healthcare specialists working on
Pakistani agriculture, water, health, economic competitiveness, and
environmental sciences.