LAHORE: The sub-committee on ‘rice seed’, which met here on Tuesday with Governor Punjab Muhammad Balighur-Rehman in the chair, discussed various proposals aimed at boosting rice production for fetching precious forex through the export of commodity.

Suggestions were also presented in the meeting regarding the improvement of rice seed.

Speaking on this occasion, the Governor said that rice is important cash crop that fetches billions of foreign exchange besides meeting the country’s nutritional requirements.

“All the stakeholders would have to give special attention on research on rice seed to increase rice production substantially and explore new markets to increase export of rice,” he said. “Modern research is needed to improve the quality of seed to increase the export of rice so that the production of high quality rice in the country and its export can be boosted through joint efforts.”

He said he will play his role in conveying the recommendations of the Rice Seed Committee to the provincial and federal governments to support the rice seed producers and rice exporters in the country.

Convener of the sub-committee on rice, Shahzad Ali Malik, put forward the recommendations and said that private seed companies producing hybrid seeds of modern technology in the country should be allotted government land on easy terms for the cultivation of seeds.

He also demanded to simplify the rules and regulations related to breeding at the local level and also to provide interest-free loans for research and development of the institutions that produce seeds of modern technology at the local level. He emphasized on providing the facility of conducting tests from, at least three accredited laboratories.

Members of the Rice Seed Committee, Dr. Khalid Hameed, Muhammad Asim, Tahir Saleemi, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Saleem Haider and Dr. Abid Mehmood, besides representatives of Agriculture University Faisalabad, MNS Agriculture University Multan were present.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023