Mexico based International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (Cimmyt) and Punjab Agricultural Research Board (Parb) have agreed to overcome the wheat shortages and its rising prices in the domestic market. 'The Director General, Cimmyt, Dr Thomas Lumpkin gave this assurance to the Chief Executive, Prab, Dr Mubarik Ali in a recent meeting', a board spokesman said on Friday.
The meeting said collaborative arrangements would be promoted in this regard between Cimmyt, Parb and Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (Parc). The meeting viewed that such collaboration would benefit Pakistan through upfront agricultural technologies, namely drought tolerant varieties that could give reasonable yield under severe drought situations that in turn would increase farmers' income and help alleviate rural poverty. Dr Lumpkin also offered to provide UG99 resistant varieties that would give 10-20 percent higher yield compared to the existing wheat varieties in Pakistan.
Cimmyt co-operating in combating UG99, threat pathologists have predicted Pakistan may face in the near future. It was also agreed that Cimmyt would help train Pakistani scientists through certain projects and programmes.
Dr Ali thanked Cimmyt DG for his assistance offer and underlined Prab's desire to link the work of scientists in Punjab with those at Cimmyt through collaborative projects that are already developed. He hoped that competitive grant system would be launched soon through shared funding from Cimmyt and Parb. The meeting held in a cordial atmosphere ended on a note of reaffirming their resolve to further strengthening the mutual collaboration in the future as well.