A seminar of stakeholders will be held in Karachi by end of this month, to deal with the shortage of certified seeds of various crops
Tandojam, Sindh
A high-level seminar of all stakeholders will be held in Karachi at the end of this month, to deal with the shortage of certified seeds of various crops in Sindh under the auspices of Sindh Agriculture University, while a province level Plant Breeding Society will be established to resolve the seed related issues.
To deal with the shortage of certified seeds of wheat, cotton, rice, oilseeds, pulses, vegetables, and other crops in Sindh, a two-day seminar will be organized in a hotel in Karachi under the auspices of Sindh Agriculture University and with the joint support of Sindh Higher Education Commission.
In this regard, a meeting was chaired by Dr. Fateh Marri, Vice Chancellor SAU, on Thursday, in which experts and scientists associated with Plant Breeding and Genetics of the University participated.
Fateh Marri said that there is a shortage of 50% of cotton and 40% of wheat certified seeds in Sindh, while most of the hybrid rice, pulses and vegetable seeds have to be imported, and the huge import bill has to be paid.
He told that 70% of the seed is provided by private companies, but the yield per acre is not increasing due to substandard seeds, rather the farmers are suffering losses, whereas due to different reasons, for the last several years the research work on the new varieties is not satisfactory.
Dr. Marri said that this seminar proposed in a hotel in Karachi will have various technical, discussion, marketing, research, and agricultural social sessions, while public, private, research and marketing related institutions, companies, scientists, breeders, and progressive growers of all crops will participate, and this seminar will prove to be an important and historic and problem solving event, in which Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah will be the guest during the closing session.
On this occasion, all the participants agreed to conduct research on hybrid seeds at the domestic level and collaborate with international experts to develop hybrid seeds, while during this seminar it was also agreed to form a Plant Breeding Society based on scientists, farmers, private and government institutions, and at the end various committees were also formed for the program.
Dean Crop Production Faculty Dr. Inayatullah Rajpar, Dr. Shahnawaz Marri, Dr. Zahoor Ahmad Soomro, Dr. Abdul Wahid Baloch, Saeed Haider Ghalo, Dr. Shabana Memon, Dr. Nasreen Veesar, Dr. Muneeza Baloch, Dr. Naila, Dr. Wajid Ali Jatoi, Dr. Piyaar Ali, Dr. Siraj Channa, Asghar Ali Rajpar and others also participated. (PR)
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