Agriculture is playing a vital role in the development of our country. It provides employment to the bulk of work force, and 67 percent population is directly or indirectly dependent on this sector. Thus, the economic well being of the people of Pakistan critically depends on the efficient performance of its agriculture sector.
Agricultural research, as it has demonstrated in the past, is the major driving force for an increase in agricultural production. However, in some cases decreasing funding for the Pakistan's agricultural research system, insufficient number of expertise and low operational funding has caused low productivity in agriculture. Ideally, the investment in agricultural research should be not less than 1.5% of the national GDP.
Presently we are spending less than one percent of GDP. The allocation of funds to agricultural research has been declining during the 1990s and most of the budget given was barely sufficient to meet the establishment costs, leaving very little for operational spending for research activities.
Moreover, the establishment to operation budget allocation ratio was as low 80:20, as against the desired rate of 60:40. With the induction of Agricultural Linkages Program, the agricultural research scientists have been provided with sufficient operational funding for cutting edge research through competitive grants.
The Governments of Pakistan and United States of America recalling their previous co-operative relations signed an agreement, through which USA supplied wheat valued at US $23.222 million as a grant to Pakistan in March, 1990. This agreement provided that the sale proceeds of this wheat amounting to 1.3 billion rupees will be used by Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) to establish the Agricultural Linkages Program (ALP) for the promotion of agricultural research, exchange of scientists and technical knowledge and institutionalise long-term co-operation between Pakistan, and the United States in the field of agricultural research.
The Fund established in order to implement this linkages program is known as Agricultural Research Endowment Fund (AREF). The main objectives of ALP are basically to promote and support agricultural research and development activities in accordance with the Pakistan long term development goal for the growth and development of agriculture sector on sustainable bases and to promote scientific co-operation between Pakistan and the USA.
PARC has been entrusted for the creation of Fund, establish and implement the Agricultural Linkages Program for support to the National Agricultural Research System (NARS). The planning Directorate of PARC was declared as the secretariat for ALP.
This Agricultural Linkages Program created under Agricultural Research Endowment Fund is a unique in all of South Asia to support operational research and to address the real problems of agriculture. PARC has been able to conceive and established the "Agricultural Research Endowment Fund (AREF)" as a landmark for the continuous support of agriculture research in the region. Since its advent PARC has launched 2 batches of projects and 245 projects in the various sectors of agriculture such as crop sciences, natural resources, animal sciences and social sciences have been approved.
They have been implemented in the agricultural universities and research institutes all over Pakistan. This year, the 3rd international workshop of the ALP has an objective not only to pave the way for establishing effective and functional linkages with research communities under the USDA, but also to enhance research partnership with the scientists of other national and international research systems.
The two main themes of this year's workshop taking place on 13th December 2006 are firstly; to highlight some of the important success stories of (85) completed ALP projects which have been implemented since March 2001.
And secondly to put forward the flagship projects for future funding with a request to seek more co-operation from the friendly countries for increased and sustainable linkages.