ISLAMABAD: National and international wheat scientists concluded their two-day gathering here on Friday to devise a plan to enhance wheat production during the forthcoming Rabi season.

It was part of the annual wheat planning meeting held at the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) and organised under US-funded wheat productivity enhancement project (WPEP).

Wheat researchers from across Pakistan, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), and the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) focused on reviewing the progress of the past wheat growing season and developing a plan for breeding, disease surveillance, seed production, and agronomy research for the upcoming rabi season.

“The five-year $11.5 million collaborative research project has produced exceptional results. Wheat is an important crop in both Pakistan and the US, and the two countries are continuing a 50-year tradition of collaboration in agriculture,” said David Williams, the US Embassy Agricultural Counselor.

Wheat production in the country increased from 3.55 million tonnes (3.9m hectares) in 1948 to 25.28m tonnes (9.1m hectares) in 2014. Grain yield has been increased from 288 kg in 1948 to 848 in 2014 per hectare.

Williams noted that farmers in every province grow wheat, and this important crop accounts for 60 per cent of the daily caloric intake of the average Pakistani. He further explained that the US- Pakistan collaboration is vital to the global effort to combat UG-99 and other wheat diseases.

The meeting participants agreed that making UG-99 wheat fungal disease resistant varieties available to farmers is a critical step in maintaining high yields for Pakistan’s most important crop. US and Pakistani scientists expressed satisfaction over the progress of WPEP thus far.

The combined efforts of US and Pakistani scientists have resulted in the successful testing and release of two highly productive wheat varieties that are capable of surviving the destructive UG-99 wheat fungal disease. WPEP and Pakistani partners introduced and tested two new wheat varieties, NARC-2011 and PAK-13.

PARC Chairman Dr Iftikhar Ahmed, while speaking at the annual review meeting, said that the WPEP has provided an opportunity of global science in Pakistan.

He said that policy makers and progressive farmers should also be invited in such meetings to set future priorities.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2014