HYDERABAD: Sindh Minister for Agriculture Mohammad Ismail Rahu has said that farm sector faces many problems, including the issue of availability of certified seed for different crops.

He said at a seminar on importance of certified seeds and this year’s wheat harvest at Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam, on Wednesday that agriculture department in collaboration with SAU would conduct research on new varieties of seed.

He said that though Sindh government had limited funds for research it was still trying to start work on new projects because research was essential for growth in farm sector.

He said that efforts were under way to subsidise agricultural products and farm equipment, use modern technology, train farmers and improve watercourses in order to increase per-acre yield.

He said that provincial government had realised that serious attention should be given to issues like enhancement in per-acre productivity, modern technology, availability of pure seed, training of farmers and lining of watercourses.

SAU Vice Chancellor Dr Fateh Marri said that most provincial and federal institutions were located in Tandojam and they could carry out joint research to develop farm sector in Sindh.

He said that climate change was threatening agriculture while Pakistan was facing food shortages due to growing population.

He said that there were 160 PhDs in SAU while 35 scholars in agricultural institutes and if grant of Rs100bn was allocated for agriculture besides grants for research they could get desired results.

He said that joint research was done on Phalkara and Nasarpur varieties of onion as Sindh was producing 55pc of country’s onion and 81pc of Pakistan’s chilli production.

Sindh secretary agriculture Abdul Rahim Soomro said that food security had become a major issue in the wake of growing population and authority to certify seeds still rested with federal government.

He said that a bill for amendment to Seed Act would be tabled in Sindh Assembly for approval. Lack of equal distribution of water was an obstacle to agriculture sector, he said.

He said that due to inadequate flows downstream Kotri Barrage fertile land in Badin and Thatta districts was getting destroyed.

Dr Zahoor Soomro, chairman Seed Production and Development Centre, SAU said that the varsity was conducting research on wheat, cotton and vegetable seeds and two new cotton varieties which were being sent to institutions concerned for approval.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2021