Introduction: Agriculture is the mainstay of Pakistan's economy. It contributes 23 percent of GDP, employs 42% of the labour force, and provides livelihood to about two-thirds of the population. Agricultural commodities and agro-based industries contribute 65% to the export.
Pakistan's economic growth in the last four decades clearly indicates its dependence on agriculture. Pakistan's agriculture is highly diverse as it ranges from mountainous areas in the north to very hot deserts and Indus delta in the south. Thus several distinct agro-ecological zones and sub-zones exist with wide diversity in climate, soil and natural vegetation. Furthermore, attitudes, problems and competence of large, medium, small and land-less farmers in each region and even in a village vary drastically in the management of their resources.
This indicates that for improved agricultural production, a large number of technology packages are required, if a visible impact is to be demonstrated. These challenges can only be met through a vibrant and well-organised agricultural research system. Without full backing of a viable research system, agricultural productivity will soon become static and may not be able to cope with the rapidly increasing population and rising income levels.
Agricultural research is a complex process. Its canvas spreads from basic and fundamental research at one end to adaptive or site-specific research at the other. There are a lot of shades in between these; the important being strategic and applied research.
The boundaries of this classification are also not very sharp and in many situations one type slides over the other. Besides there is farming system perspective of research too. However, agricultural research in Pakistan currently being undertaken can best be described as maintenance research. This usually will be able to tackle national emergencies like plant and animal diseases but cannot be expected to result in quantum jump in the agricultural production.
HISTORY: The roots of agricultural research in Indo-Pakistan can be traced back to Imperial Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), established in undivided India in 1929. Unfortunately, all central research institutes established by ICAR were left in India at the time of partition and there was virtually not a single central institute located in the territories that constituted Pakistan.
Pakistan realised the importance of agricultural research & the Government established Food and Agriculture Committee of Pakistan in 1951. The status of the committee was raised to Food and Agriculture Commission in 1960. The Food and Agriculture Commission was renamed as Agriculture Research Council (ARC) in 1968.
The first Pak-American Agriculture Research Review Team thoroughly reviewed the agriculture research scenario in Pakistan in 1968. Federal cabinet appointed Agriculture Inquiry Committee in 1973. Both the reports highlighted the need for reorganisation of agriculture research in Pakistan. Thus ARC was re-organised as Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) in 1978. In 1997 World Bank, USAID and CIDA Agriculture Research Commission visited Pakistan.
While analyzing the deficiencies of Pakistan's agriculture research system, the commission proposed to set up PARC as a fully autonomous research organisation. PARC ordinance was promulgated in 1981 making PARC as an autonomous organisation under M/o Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MINFAL). Simultaneously, in 1980 Agriculture Research Division (ARD) was established in MINFAL to look after agricultural research in the country and Chairman, PARC was appointed as ex-officio Secretary of ARD. However, in 1993 the ARD was disbanded and Agriculture Research Wing (ARW) in MINFAL was created to look after the research affairs of the country.
FUNCTIONS: As per PARC ordinance, 1981, the Council has the following functions:
-- To undertake, aid, promote and co-ordinate agricultural research.
-- To arrange the expeditious utilisation of the research results.
-- To establish research establishments mainly to fill in the gaps in existing program of agricultural research.
-- To arrange the training of high-level scientific manpower in agricultural sciences.
-- To generate, acquire and disseminate information relating to agriculture.
-- To establish and maintain a reference and research library.
SALIENT ACHIEVEMENTS:
PARC has an excellent track record of achieving the targets which can be grouped into 4 major categories namely; in-house research achievements, co-ordinated research programs, support to NARS and provision of target research funding through competitive grants.
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