National Seed Policy to be Presented for Cabinet Approval Soon aiming to address the challenges faced by seed technology companies and is designed to modernize the seed production system in the country, ultimately boosting the yields of cotton and other crops.
National Seed Policy of Pakistan
The National Seed Policy is in its final stages and will soon be presented to the cabinet for approval.
The policy is expected to address the challenges that seed technology companies face and modernize the seed production system in the country, thereby boosting the yields of cotton and other crops.
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The private sector must play a crucial role in the development of Pakistan’s agricultural sector by providing high-quality seeds that have the potential to increase yields,” said Punjab Agriculture Secretary Iftikhar Ali Sahoo in an informal meeting with agriculture reporters on Friday.
Pakistan to Consider Historic National Seed Policy
“The Punjab government is in talks with multinational and local companies to stabilize the declining cotton production rather than taking it to past glory,” he added.
Sahoo further emphasized that the national seed policy, in addition to activities at the federal and provincial levels, seeks to introduce an integrated system to Pakistan—a system from seed technology all the way to cotton stewardship.
He confessed that public sector research institutions failed in developing high-yielding varieties of crops, and he went on to remark that the successes in maize and rice were mainly attributed to the private sector in the introduction of hybrid seeds.
We cannot depend solely on the research institutions in the public sector. The private sector also plays a very important role in developing high-yielding seeds for the country. We don’t see the private sector as a competitor. Instead, we see them as a partner. We are ready to finance them and in any other way that is necessary to strengthen the agricultural sector,” Sahoo said.
He also mentioned some of the efforts by the Punjab government to improve the agricultural sector. He said that the province had successfully met its wheat sowing target of 16.5 million acres despite many challenges. He appreciated the extension staff for their hard work, saying that they had met the target by the end of the wheat season on December 10.
Sahoo revealed that negotiations were under way with an international firm to establish a bio-refinery in the province, which would utilize crop waste, especially rice straw, for biofuel production.
When confronted with the issue of smog and its possible effects on crop yields, Sahoo admitted that the extent of the effect on yield was not known. Still, he said the government had distributed 1,000 super seeders to rice farmers to prevent them from burning rice crop residue, which is a major source of smog.
He informed that the super seeder density next year would jump to 5,000. He mentioned that rice crop is produced on 6.5 million acres of land across Punjab and out of those, 3 million are lying in Lahore and Gujranwala divisions alone. “Environmental-friendly harvesting is the other slogan besides mechanization propagated by provincial government”, he said.
Project Director for National Seed Policy to be Presented for Cabinet Approval Soon
Dr Anjum Buttar, Project Director PESP, said that the government was working on a national pulses project for the promotion of chickpeas (Channa) and mung beans (Mong) to meet the growing domestic demand and reduce imports.
The government is also promoting off-season sowing of tomatoes and onions, and large areas along the Chenab River have already been dedicated to these crops.
The Secretary of Agriculture had spoken to many projects like CM Punjab Kissan Card, Green Tractor Scheme, the Programme for Solarisation of tube wells, the internship programme for agri graduations and others in detail much earlier.
National Seed Policy to be Presented for Cabinet Approval Soon
National Seed Policy to be Presented for Cabinet Approval Soon aiming to address the challenges faced by seed technology companies and is designed to modernize the seed production system in the country, ultimately boosting the yields of cotton and other crops.
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