Perspective

Abstract

Science has played a predominant role in the socioeconomic uplift of human society. It has conferred on humanity powers rarely imagined to exercise a kind of control over the environment that has in many ways made humans master of their own destiny. Practically the entire agricultural and industrial development in the world today owes itself to the concept of science in harness, and the tempo of this transformation is being maintained and even accelerated through rapid advances occurring in scientific knowledge and technological innovations. Whereas the developed countries have attained increasingly greater heights in scientific and technological achievements, the less developed countries such as Pakistan, plagued as they long have been with ignorance and inertia compounded by alien rule and exploitation, lagged far behind, although in recent years economic progress in such countries has picked up momentum owing to political awakening, more enlightened attitudes, and increased resource availability. Because the overall economy of the majority of the developing countries is critically linked with agriculture, the modernization of the agriculture sector has been given a top priority in our development programs. As a result, the agriculture of Pakistan is gradually changing from a way of living to a way of making a living. To accelerate this transition from the domain of arts and crafts to the world of science and technology, the People’s Government in Pakistan is making all-out efforts to provide the necessary infrastructure with special emphasis on developing the requisite institutions, economic incentives, a backlog of technology, and so forth.