In the wake of Minister for National Food Security and Research’s admission regarding the deteriorating performance of Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC), the cabinet has directed the food ministry to submit a plan to revamp the research institute.
Sources told The Express Tribune that cabinet members questioned the performance of PARC while considering a summary. They also raised questions on the reconstitution of PARC board of governors.
The minister for national food security & research agreed that the working of research institutes had deteriorated and there was a dire need to evaluate their capacities through international experts. He highlighted that out of the 3,800 employees at PARC only 300 were scientists. The cabinet directed that a plan for revamping PARC be presented to it within four weeks.
The affairs of PARC as a research institute have been very inadequate as the cotton crop witnessed a historic decline in production during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s tenure.
The main reason for the decline in cotton crop was the lack of research in the area of seed. The farmers have not been able to get valuable seeds for a long time. However, the employees of PARC continued to receive higher salaries and hefty packages.
Read: Govt urged to revamp PARC
PARC witnessed further crisis when the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government appointed 269 employees illegally. Despite a court verdict, PARC continued to pay salaries to these employees due to pressure of the food ministry.
The food ministry had submitted panels for members of PARC board of governors from different provinces. Sindh was the only province that had nominated all farmers in a panel, while in the Punjab nomination there were no eminent farmers.
Reconstitution of PARC board
The National Food Security & Research Division apprised the cabinet that PARC is an apex organisation working under PARC Ordinance 1981 with the mandate to promote and coordinate agricultural research in the country.
As per clause 6 (1), chapter-IV of ibid ordinance, overall control, direction and superintendence of affairs of the council vest in the board of governors and clause 11, chapter-IV defines the term of office for non-official members.
The three-year tenure of the PARC board had expired and the chairman proposed the following revised composition of the board, which comprised 15 members, for a period of three years.
Official members
The federal ministry proposed the name of Ministry of National Food Security and Research secretary for president.
The proposed official members include the ministry secretary, PARC chairman, finance ministry secretary, government representative not below the rank of additional secretary, and Planning Commission member.
The food ministry also proposed four names to act as whole-time members, which included officials from areas of plant sciences, natural resources, animal sciences, social sciences and finance.
Read more: NA chair stops sacking of PARC employees
The food ministry also proposed a panel of non-official members and pleaded to approve one of the candidates from each province.
Punjab proposed a panel of three candidates, which included Rabia Sultan, a progressive farmer from Lahore, PARC former chairman Amir Muhammed and FAO Islamabad Project Coordinator Muhammad Afzal.
Sindh also suggested a panel of three candidates, comprising Imdad Ali Nizamani, a farmer from Tando Allahyar, Ghulam Qasim Jiskani from Khairpur and Agha Zulfiqar Durrani, a progressive farmer from Hyderabad
Balochistan recommended three candidates; Abdul Salam Baloch, Abdul Nasir Kasi and Hakim Ali Jamali. The three candidates recommended by Khyber-Pakthunkhwa were Fida Muhammad Abbasi, Noor Jehan and Said Khan Khalil.
Gilgit-Baltistan suggested names of Izhar Hunzai, Inyatullah Shumali and Ghulam Abbas for the panel.
The approval of the cabinet was solicited to the proposal. The cabinet considered the summary titled ‘Reconstitution of PARC Board of Governors’ submitted by the National Food Security & Research Division, and directed the sponsoring division to submit the panel of non-official members to the Prime Minister’s Office in light of the cabinet decision conveyed vide in a letter on March 16, 2018. The Cabinet further directed the sponsoring division to present, to the cabinet, a comprehensive plan to revamp PARC, within four weeks.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 7th, 2021.
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