Pakistan is all set to become member of elite hybrid rice seed exporting club next month after executing pioneering trade deal with Philippines. After passing through various national regulatory procedures, the first ever consignment of 100 tons high yielding hybrid rice seed is expected to be exported in the month of April.
"This seed will be sufficient to cultivate about 15,000 acres of land. As this hybrid seed is produced in harsh weather conditions of coastal areas of Sindh province, it is suitable for plantation in changing climate of China and other far eastern countries of Asia, offering tremendous export market. Even India can take huge benefits from this seed technology," said Shahzad Ali Malik, Chief Executive Officer of Guard Agricultural Research and Services.
He said the remarkable success of Pakistani scientists in developing prime rice seed varieties has been a result of a two-decade old partnership with the Chinese researchers who have invented novel techniques of hybrid seed breeding.
Talking about climate change and its impact on agro-ecosystems, he said the need to develop heat-tolerant and drought-resistant hybrid rice seed varieties become immensely important with climate change becoming a reality by every passing day. In this connection, he observed, production of premium quality seed by the private sector has been a major milestone in the country, which is largely monopolized by public sector institutions or multinationals.
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