The public and private sector joint efforts can bring the country out of crisis of certified seed shortage.
The public and private sector joint efforts can bring the country out of crisis of certified seed shortage. This was stated by University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan while addressing workshop on ‘Capacity building in seed technology’ organised by the University of Agriculture Faisalabad.
He said that Pakistan is importing hybrid seed for maize, rice, potatoes and other vegetables worth billions of rupees. This money could be saved by strengthening the seed industry. “The use of certified seeds in various crops stands at only 20 per cent,” he said. The rest of the farming community is depending upon non certified seed. He said that during 2011-12, the seed requirement of various crops in in the country was 1.5 million tons. The farmers ran short of 1.14 million metric tons of quality seed.
“The lack of quality seed, machinery and horse power in Pakistan is hampering the process of increasing agricultural production,” he pointed out.
He said that the university had set up a Seed Centre for conducting valuable researches that will help increase per acre production. He said the UAF is in the process of launching a seed sciences degree programme.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 13th, 2014.
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I did not know about the UAF until about a few years back. But recently, they have been doing excellent work towards enabling Pakistan's agriculture to advance and grow. I suspect this is mainly due to the USAID program that singled out UAF as a primary institution to build. But regardless, UAF has taken the opportunity to move forward leaps and bounds and we salute their progress and perseverance.
As far as the seed issues, I would be shocked if Engro wouldnt want to partner with UAF to develop an industrial complex producing high quality and certified seeds.