Equipment provided to boost wheat production
The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) and the government of Pakistan have expanded their cooperation to strengthen wheat research, develop improved varieties and promote food security, with modern laboratory equipment and agricultural machinery being provided to research institutions.
A high-level delegation led by Dr Flavio Breseghello, director of CIMMYT's Global Wheat Program, visited the Wheat Research Institute at the Ayub Agricultural Research Institute (AARI), Faisalabad, where a modern laboratory and working area was inaugurated.
The initiative marks six decades of agricultural cooperation between Pakistan and CIMMYT.
Under the project, modern equipment is being provided to laboratories at five research institutions, while experimental threshing equipment and other research facilities have been allocated to 11 institutions.
The initiative also included three seed cleaner-cum-graders and 10 zero-tillage seed-cum-fertiliser drills.
Punjab Agricultural Research Director General Dr Sajidur Rehman and Wheat Research Institute Chief Scientist Dr Javed Ahmad briefed the delegation on ongoing research and wheat varieties developed through collaboration between Pakistani scientists and CIMMYT.
Dr Sajidur Rehman said the institute's scientists had introduced more than 70 wheat varieties since 1960, including Mexi-Pak, Inqilab, Sehar, Punjab 2011, Faisalabad 2008, Akbar, Galaxy, Dilkash, Bhakkar Star, Fakhr-e-Bhakkar, Nawab, Sunehra and Falak.
An agricultural seminar was also held, bringing together scientists from AARI and progressive farmers to discuss innovation in wheat research and the use of modern machinery at different stages of cultivation, from sowing to harvesting.
Dr Breseghello said CIMMYT had been working with Pakistan since the 1960s to improve wheat yields. The introduction of its germplasm and its crossbreeding with local varieties had contributed to the development of improved wheat varieties and the country's agricultural progress, he added.
He said modern machinery and equipment provided to wheat research centres would strengthen research capacity and support the development of improved varieties, including those better able to withstand climate change.