The National Assembly standing committee on national food security and research (NFSR) led by its Chairman Malik Shakir Bashir Awan, MNA, visited Southern-zone Agricultural Research Centre (SARC) of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) located at Karachi University Campus on Friday.
Director General (SARC) Dr Mubarik Ahmad gave a detailed overview of SARC objectives, R&D scope which includes quality testing of grains and other agricultural produce for import and export, pesticides, and animal/poultry feed for domestic use; screening of wheat varieties against rust under most conducive environment and development and propagation of new sugarcane varieties, rodent control in civic bodies including ports and health institutes, arid and coastal agriculture and field application of research results/technologies in Sindh and Balochistan and teaching and research support to University of Karachi and collaboration with various educational and national and international agricultural research institutions.
He also briefed the components of SARC which include food quality and safety research institute, vertebrate pest control institute, pest management research institute, crop diseases research institute, institute of plant introduction, national sugar and tropical horticulture research institute, arid-zone research institute, feed development centre, outreach research activities unit, gender and social development unit and statistical support & IT unit and the technologies developed and propagated, products, need-based pesticides “nimboli” for the control of cotton white fly, fertinemakil, Thatta-10 sugarcane variety, HoTh-300 upcoming sugarcane variety and other promising and Chinese sugarcane varieties, solar irrigation pumping system, Jojoba and Mott cultivation, Chinese colour cotton, PARC sunflower PARSUN-3, tissue cultured banana plant at farmers field, rodent control packages, screening of wheat germplasm against leaf stem rust, and other on-going research activities under various research institutes of SARC.
The committee visited various laboratories of the centre especially the laboratory related to wheat quality testing, pest risk analysis models for mango, dates and rice and shown their satisfaction. The committee also appreciated the efforts of PARC scientists to control mango fruit fly, wheat rusts and other animal epidemic diseases in the country and save precious foreign exchange.
The NA Standing Committee NFSR insist for properly transfer of latest technology innovations to provincial agricultural extension departments and particularly to the farmers door-step. The committee also urged the scientists to motivate youth and create opportunities for them to join agriculture as a profitable profession so that they also play their important role for the development agriculture sector in the country to meet future challenges of food security.
