Sustainability Related Startups

1. Student Demonstration Plant Nursery

Under Green initiatives being envisioned by the Vice Chancellor, the students of Forestry and Environmental Sciences are encouraged to start their own nursery business by imparting training of the students about Nursery Raising Techniques, Kitchen Gardening Mechanism for female students and raising awareness among the local community by the student activities. For this purpose, every year 40,000 plants (forestry & horticulture) are raised by the students which are distributed free of cost to the local community during the two plantation campaigns of the country.




2. Honey Bee Project by the students - Mehr Fresh Honey of Phulai (acacia modesta) and Ber (Ziziphus mauritiana)

The students of the Entomology Department are actively engaged in the production of honey bee under this project. They are encouraged to participate in this activity for resource and income generation. The University is providing all logistic support to the students who are actively participated in this activity. The product thus obtained is sold among the faculty, student and other employees of the University on no-profit no-loss basis. The extra honey is sold out in the market to get the additional income.




3. Hydroponic Agriculture (21st Century Agriculture)

The Hydroponic technology for raising vegetables is becoming popular day by day and a source of manifold production of the vegetable as compared to the conventional agriculture although the energy cost may raise the cost of production in the prevailing situation of the country. However, the farmers trained in this trade at the University are taught to switch over their energy to the renewable energy i.e. solar energy in order to reduce the cost of the production. Resultantly, the faculty of the University has been successful to introduce the indigenous Hydroponic system affordable for the farmers and the students who got extensive training for the trade. The successful farmers by adopting the hydroponic technology may get manifold production of its produce whatever he want to produce. The undergraduate students of the university are obliged to learn the hydroponic techniques by introducing the subject of hydroponic technology compulsory. The University is aimed to train the students and the farmers of the region about this technology to make Pakistan Clean & Green.




4. Zero Solid Waste Campus/Green Campus

PMAS- Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi has attained the status of “Zero Solid Waste Campus”. This became possible through the establishment of “Integrated Waste Management Station - IWMS” at PMAS-AAUR. The IWMS expands over an area of 1200 sq ft mostly under the fiber glass shed. Its main components are:


  • An enclosure for temporary stock of collected biomass waste (plant leaves, paper, grasses and crop residues etc.)
  • Anaerobic digesters, fermenter, biogas extraction and storage unit
  • A generator to produce electricity from biogas.


The IWMS has been established with the main objective to beneficially utilize the waste biomass generated at the university campus for primarily making compost from it through anaerobic digestion process, and secondly to produce biogas from this processing and ultimately generate the electricity from biogas. This system was established under the Green Vision of the Vice Chancellor with the assistance of the University Green Office and Green Youth Movement Club of the Students. The members of the Green Youth Club are actively engaged in making the Campus Clean & Green by introducing integrated Waste Management Station and extensive Tree Plantation Campaigns thus raising tremendous awareness among the 14,000 students and 2,000 employees of the University in particular and thousands of the people living in the vicinity of the University.




5. Biogas Research Station

This is an innovative model of biomass utilization in an above-ground solid state process with the simultaneous output of bio-organic fertilizer (compost) and bio-energy. The model developed by the students and faculty is based on fermentation of slightly wetted waste biomass stacked only once in the anaerobic type digestion bins or pits and left covered with plastic sheet for six months to produce biogas and get composted towards the end. It needs only a little water sprinkling at the surface under the plastic sheet cover just fortnightly. Biogas synthesis starts immediately after closure / covering of digester accumulates enough biogas to be extracted for usage. It is drawn out through PVC filter pipes laid horizontally in the center of biomass digesters. In this way, the recently developed technology of integrated waste management is ideal for co-generation of compost, biogas and electricity without producing any waste to dispose of. There are simple procedural and material requirements for adopting this technology at community level. Further, it can also be propagated at larger scale to take care of solid waste being generated every day in the cities and agricultural crops residues in rural areas with the fruitful outcome to have organic foods and fulfill the energy needs. This has also opened up new avenues of research on biomass utilization and bio-energy production. By virtue of the above intervention by the students of the University, it is revealed that the human resource thus produce will be able to initiate its own business of fertilizer and energy & earned income lead to the successful entrepreneurship.




6. Food Processing and Research Laboratory

The Institute of Food & Nutritional Sciences is patronizing this student demonstration and research facility in the relevant field for furnishing new opportunities of product development for the students of the institute. The trained human resource in the form of food scientist, technologist and nutritionists will be part of the National Economy to meet the emerging food requirement of the masses of the country by value addition and other allied practices. The students of the institute are actively engaged in the research and demonstration of the food analysis and development of the food product along with the nutritional activities which make them a strong professional in the field of food and nutritional sciences. The products of this lab are sold within the University community for encouragement of the students.






7. Veterinary Advisory Services Rendered by the Students – Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital

The Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences with the assistance of the final year students started an advisory/consultation services for the ailing birds, sheep, dogs, goats and large animals of the area. The necessary surgical services are also being provided at the student work station.


The Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital is established for local community service, tertiary care satellite hospital located at University Research Farm. The veterinary specialists of the University provide care for large and small animals including bovine, goats, sheep, horses, donkeys, camels, and deer etc. The primary objective of the veterinary teaching hospital is to impart teaching and training of undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled in DVM, MPhil and PhD degree programs. In addition, it provides clinical services to the animal breeders and farmers. This hospital deals with medical, reproductive, surgical and pet cases. Apart from this, Doctor of Veterinary Medicines (DVM) undergraduate students have been visiting the hospital regularly during their enrolled clinical courses for hands-on-training. Immediate diagnosis and treatment of sick animals (infectious and non-infectious diseases), vaccination of birds and animals and organizing Farmer day at University Research Farm on yearly basis.


Livestock production and management department has a small and large ruminant farm, maintained at University Research Farm. The main objective of the livestock farm is to provide students with basic and applied knowledge for a strong foundation in livestock production sciences that emphasizes the application of fundamental principles of animal farm management, feeds & feeding and breeding and genetics in the areas of animal production.






8. Incubation Center

An Incubation Center established on July 2021 at University Institute of Information technology of PMAS-AAUR with an aim to promote entrepreneurship. The Incubation Centers are playing an important role and such a center is the need of time. The center will not only provide students a workplace by organizing training courses & workshops but also teach, guide and help students to formalize their projects.




9. Women Development Studies Center to Empower Rural Women/Students

Every Woman has the opportunity to earn a dignified livelihood. The establishment of this Women Development Studies Center (WDSC) is to increase opportunities for income generation among Women of Pothwar Plateau, by strengthening their skills, business capacities and market linkages, thereby facilitating them in accessing better economic opportunities and improving their quality of their life and that of their families. There is a dire need, to support the step of young university female graduates as an “entrepreneur” in to job creation and market. The establishment of this center in one of the pioneer effort is being made in the Rawalpindi or Pothwar region. This is the first formal step to strengthen the bond between education & entrepreneurship. Keeping in view the skills and ability of self-generating income activities of the Pothwar women, this center aims at empowering the existing women’s business skills and as well as equipping with desired entrepreneurial market-based skills to the womenfolk. This center will prove a milestone in identifying skillful and vocational women (educated & uneducated) in order to recognize their true role in the economic development of Pakistan.


10. Research Endowment Fund Program

PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi has setup Research Endowment Fund in order to promote Research, Development & Disseminate new technologies and capacity building through trainings in the field of agriculture and allied sciences. Different initiatives/programs have been designed under the umbrella of Research Endowment Fund to accelerate the research activities in the university. The objectives of the program are:


  • Promotion of Research
  • Developing New Technologies
  • Dissemination of Technologies
  • Training required for the development of Agriculture in the country

Moreover, following initiatives have been design under the umbrella of Research Endowment Funds:-


  • Research/Performance Awards
  • Funding for Workshops/Symposia/Seminars
  • Publication Incentives
  • Book Writing Incentives
  • Research Grant for PhD Students
  • Funding for Travel grant
  • unding for Outreach Activities
  • Reimbursement of Patent Filing

11. Outreach Activities For Rural Farming Community

University outreach program strengthened the link between university and the farmers of Pothwar region. Outcomes of last year’s comprehensive outreach program attracted farmers to actively participate in it. During the Rabi season 2021-2022 program was launched on relatively larger scale with emphasizing on increasing per acre yield of three major crops of barani areas i.e wheat, chickpea and brassica. For field demonstration, progressive farmers were selected and new certified varieties of wheat (Fakhar-e-Bakkar), brassica (Barani canola), chickpea (Bittel 2016) were sown in farmer’s fields in rainfed areas of district Rawalpindi and vegetable seed kits for kitchen gardening were also distributed through balloting. Farmers’ gatherings were organized pre and post sowing of Rabi crops. In these meetings, farmers were comprehensively briefed about the latest production technologies of Rabi crops and their problems were addressed on the spot by field specialists i.e. Faculty and students.