Wheat wheat everywhere, not
a grain to eat
By INP
“The
Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP) for Pakistan is
playing an important role in strengthening agricultural
research system in Pakistan through providing financial
resources, HRD and new innovations. Some farmers are still
growing local varieties of various crops which cause low
productivity. PASSCO has been given the task of development
of seed of improved varieties for availability of quality
and improved varieties seed to our farming community,” said
Federal Secretary Ministry of National Food Security and
Research Seerat Asghar while presiding over a meeting for
Establishment of Provincial Agricultural Research Boards in
Balochistan, Khyber Paktunkhwa and Sindh Provinces at
Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) Islamabad.
PARC Chairman Dr Iftikhar Ahmad said wheat productivity
doubled in Pakistan whereas the production of pulses is low.
There is need for investment in technology to increase
production of pulses in the country.
He said there is also need to modernize our agriculture on
the pattern of advanced countries.
On this occasion, CIMMYT Country Representative-Pakistan Dr
Muhammad Imtiaz gave a detailed overview of Agricultural
Innovation Program (AIP) for Pakistan.
Dr Mubarik Ali, Senior Research Fellow (IFPRI-PSSP) also
gave a presentation on Punjab Agricultural Research Board (PARB)
which include structural and management weaknesses in
agricultural research.
PARB vision to enhance sustainable productivity, reduce
poverty, ensure food security and promote competitiveness in
the agricultural sector through output oriented agricultural
research, existing structure of PARB Board and EC
composition, operation, strategies, goals, achievements /
major research outputs, etc.
Dr. Stephen Davies from
IFPRI-PSSP, Dr. Jennifer (CIMMYT), Dr. Nazim Ali (USAID),
Dr. Shahid Masood, Member (Plant Sciences) PARC / Focal
Person (AIP), Dr. Shahid Rafique, Member (Animal Sciences),
Dr. Umer Farooq, Member (Social Sciences) and other senior
officers also shared their views and experience with the
participants of the meeting.
The Agricultural Innovation Program (AIP) is a USAID funded
initiative and managed by CIMMYT in partnership with PARC
and other stakeholders.
The goals of AIP are to
increase crop productivity and production value of
livestock, horticultural, and cereal crops, thus increasing
income for Pakistan farmers.
This is multi-institute program and designed to attract
highly skilled staff of national and international repute
including the involvement of other international centers as
primarly partners like ILRI, IRRI, AVRDC, and DC Davis-USA
to support agricultural research community in Pakistan in
achieving the goal of the program.
During conceptualization of AIP of Pakistan followed by
inception workshop held in May 2013 in Islamabad all, NARS
partners stressed for the establishment of Provincial
Agricultural Research Boards in Balcohistan, Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh on the lines of PARB.
PARC was entrusted the responsibility to create and
establish provincial boards in these provinces and
strengthening of PARB and manage province-inclusive
Competitive Grants System (CGS).
Once the provincial AR4D boards are established and made
function, each board will have its own Board of Directors
and Executive Committee to run the affairs of board and
implement the competitive grants by channelizing funds
through boards to province.
PARC provide leadership in
the establishment boards.
These boards will support the
expansion of provincial linkages to greater national,
regional and international communities through an
overarching mechanism of coordination.
The provincial boards will
play a growing role in the administration of the competitive
grants.
January 2015
Source: Pakistan
Today
