ISLAMABAD: The US Department of Agriculture and the Agency for International Development (USAID) have cautioned the government against moving the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) from its current location in Islamabad.

The issue of NARC’s proposed relocation echoed during a review of the US-assisted agricultural research projects in Pakistan here. The US is a major contributor to the setting up of NARC.

The CDA has moved a proposal to the prime minister to establish a housing sector on the 1,250 acres in Shahzad Town where agricultural research activities have been undertaken since 1984.

The establishment of the Borlaug Institute for South Asia (BISA), a collaborative effort involving the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), has been announced at the NARC. A similar institute is already functioning in India on the legacy of Dr Norman Borlaug, the father of the Green Revolution and the winner of Nobel Peace Prize in 1970.

CIMMYT director general Dr Martin Kropff just concluded his visit to Pakistan. During a meeting with the top management of the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), Dr Kropff said USAID was reluctant to support the establishment of the Borlaug Institute at NARC provided the government categorically assured that the research centre would not be relocated.

He said if NARC was shifted, definitely the other international institutions established in the centre would automatically be relocated. He informed the PARC management that the minister and secretary of national food security and research had been very supportive of the establishment of the BISA but the funding agency’s concerns needed to be addressed.

Dr Kropff was of the view that NARC should remain at its existing location for other so many reasons. He said if the centre was shifted, the stuff developed in it so far would be lost. He also stressed the need for developing a public-private partnership for expanding technologies to the farmers and developing agriculture on modern lines.

PARC chairman Dr Iftikhar Ahmad informed the CYMMIT top official that the international cooperation was needed for the development of agriculture sector in the country.

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play