Indigenous effort: With hybrid seeds, rice output can rise 2 million tons

Area planted with such seeds to cross 50% in next three years

LAHORE: High-yielding hybrid rice is going to cross 50% of the total area planted with paddy in the next three years from the current range of 25% to 30%, which will increase the output by 2 million tons, said Guard Rice Research and Services CEO Shahzad Ali Malik.

Plantation of hybrid rice seeds in Pakistan is being spearheaded by national seed companies, mainly in collaboration with Chinese firm Guard Agri.

Several multinational seed companies like Monsanto, Pioneer, Syngenta and Bayer did try to introduce hybrid rice seeds, but failed to outperform the national seed companies, Malik claimed.

Their varieties were less rewarding for the farmers due to insignificant increase in production while seed cost was high compared to what local seed companies were offering, he said while speaking to members of the Agriculture Journalists Association after the oath-taking ceremony of a new body.

Malik, who was founding president of the Seed Association of Pakistan and ex-president of the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan, said with efforts of local scientists, the role of private sector in seed research and development was growing day by day.

“With the doubling of hybrid rice seed coverage from the present 25-30% to over 50% in the next three years, national rice production is expected to increase by 2 million tons,” he emphasised, adding that overall production would go up from the current 6.9 million tons to 9 million tons.

In hybrid rice, around 90% of the area planted with the long-grain seed lies in Sindh while the remaining 10% is cultivated in south Punjab.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 27^th, 2018.

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