SARGODHA – An Assistant Professor of the Department of Agronomy, College ofAgriculture, Sargodha University (SU) Dr Abdul Rehman has become the firstPakistani national to invent a multi-purpose and multi-functional sugarcaneinter cropping drill.
The invention will meet the diversified needs of small scale farmers bymaximizing land utilization, increasing total yield and high monetaryreturns.Dr Abdul Rehman has designed and fabricated a unique and the first drill ofits kind with the help of his research team and local industry usingindigenous raw material.
The Patent Office granted the exclusive right of use of the process andalso to make, import, offer for sale, sell, stock and use the productobtained directly by means of the process so patented under 143094, subjectto the Patents Ordinance, 2000.
As per the Patents Ordinance, 2000 enforced in Pakistan, an invention ispatent able if it is new, involves an inventive step and also capable ofindustrial application.
Sharing his views about the invention, Dr Abdul Rehman said that amultipurpose and multinational tractor drawn drill was purposely designedfor sugarcane sowing and inter cropping. It has the capacity to performfunctions of various tillage implements including soil cultivation,breaking of clods, leveling of soil surface and drilling of seed andfertilizer in a single pass, he said.
In the presence of Inter Cropping Drill Unit, there is no need to purchasedifferent implements separately, he expressed adding that about 50 percentof existing area of sugarcane can additionally be utilized for sowing ofwheat, gram, maize, vegetables, clovers and pulses by using this intercropping drill.
Read Top Stories
Dr Rehman expressed that inter-cropping in sugarcane generally requiresmore labor, thereby inter cropping drill will lessen the expenses, maximizeland utilization and uplift the Socio-economic condition of the small scalefarmers.Deputy Director ORIC Sargodha University Dr Anjum Murtaza informed that atotal of six patents have been listed with the Patent Office of Pakistan.
He said the rise in university patenting is occurring against a broaderpolicy framework aimed at fostering a greater interaction between publicresearch and industry in order to increase the social and private returnsfrom public support to R&D.
It is worth mentioning here that the University is providing financialassistance, research projects and grants to the faculty from its ownresources. Moreover, it has increased budget allocation for research by 51percent for the fiscal year 2019-2020.
