Dr Zafar Altaf, Chairman, Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, (PARC) Sunday said that United States, Pakistan and Afghanistan's collaboration to monitor wheat rust UG99 through trilateral pledge will help to ensure food security in the region.
This he stated while speaking a galaxy of scientists from Mexico, USA, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Australia, Pakistan and across all provinces who came to attend this two-day symposium organised by PARC in collaboration with United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) here at the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) to make an action plan for combating UG99, a wheat stem rust.
It is to be noted that the United States, Afghanistan and Pakistan plan to increase co-operation on agricultural development and support research on food production, agriculture-related issues/resources, and improvement of agricultural trade and markets.
The countries have agreed to form working groups, which were established in the areas of Food Security, Agricultural Trade Corridors, Water Management and Watershed Rehabilitation.
The food security working groups priority challenge area targeted stem rust UG99 race as a major hazard to wheat production, The United States plans to join Afghanistan and Pakistan in accelerating a focused development effort that is expected to improve trade, increase the productivity of agriculture, revitalise local and regional agricultural markets improve food security, and transform the agriculture sector.
The United States is planning to spend $27.5 million under the US Department of Agriculture's Food for Progress Programme for Pakistan and Afghanistan to help improve the sustainable development of their agricultural sectors. UG99 since its origin in Uganda in 1999 has migrated reached Iran and has become a regional threat that now confronts wheat production and stability.
It has opened up doors for Pakistani researchers to take a closer look at the constraint and make efforts to tackle the problem. Pakistan is well positioned and has the capacity to handle this program and be the focal point. Through this activity hub would be promoted the wheat crop yield security functions that will simultaneously provide opportunities arid strategies complimenting the perceive trilateral food security mandate.
Pakistan would take the lead role in producing and deploying unique resistant wheat varieties within the region. At this occasion Secretary Ministry of Food and Agriculture gave an over view of the symposium.
The trilateral alliance would in addition, allow research to be conducted on the local stem rust virulence and enhance our capacities to avert the fungal threat, solidify leadership within Pakistan, building up regional capacities for making global impacts. The galaxy of approximately 60 professionals represent institutions/organisations from Mexico, USA, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Australia and Pakistan across all provinces.
The participants of the symposium prepared recommendations on a diverse range of aspects relating to the rust pathogens containment and target on capacity building across multidisciplinary facets to ensure regional food security and pave the way forward for other food commodities to be focused upon in the future.