GUARD may export 300 metric tons of hybrid rice to Philippines

Guard Agricultural Research & Services Limited (GUARD) is likely to export 300 metric tons of hybrid rice to Philippines this year. It is the second year in row that the Pakistani company will be exporting hybrid rice seed as last year it in collaboration with its Chinese counterpart Yuan Longping High-Tech Agriculture first time ever in country's history exported 50 metric tons of rice seed. Last export was on experimental basis to the same country and continuous export will open new window of earning foreign exchange for Pakistan.
It is worth mentioning that Guard is the first company which introduced Hybrid seed of eight different coarse varieties for Pakistani growers and then started Hybrid seed production in Pakistan in collaboration with its Chinese counterpart.
The Company has four research stations at Golarchi, Larkana, Lahore and Pakpattan. It is producing hybrid rice seed on an area of 1400 acre at Golarchi, TM Khan, Matli, Shah Karim, Mir Pur Bathoro, Sindh and the total area during the current calendar year in Sindh & Punjab is 1800 acres.
"Our company introduced hybrid rice seed of coarse variety in Sindh back in 1999 which not only doubled the production but also resulted in prosperity of the farmers. By joining hands with us to produce hybrid rice seed, farmers can earn more than double while they were saving only Rs 30,000 per acre by sowing the conventional varieties,' said Chief Executive Guard Shahzad Ali Malik while talking to Business Recorder on Tuesday.
Throwing light on popularity of hybrid rice among farmers, Malik said that not only income of rice farmers has doubled due to double yield of hybrid rice as compared to IRRI varieties, but early maturing hybrid rice crop give way for timely sowing of Rabi crops. Timely sown Rabi crops give positive and significantly increase in per unit production/per acre yield, which consequently increase farmer income and due to shorter maturity period, hybrid rice crop can be planted in late season, he added.
He claimed that the yield of current rice varieties is low and stagnant and this low rice yield do not match with increasing cost of inputs and consequently increased cost of production is rendering Pakistan un-competitive in international market. Besides this arable land resources are declining, water shortage is becoming a big problem and only solution to these issue is adoption of sowing of hybrid rice.