ISLAMABAD: The Mini­stry of National Food Secu­rity and Research on Wedne­sday announced that its Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department has certified 515,000 tonnes of wheat seeds during 2020.

The department has also tested 200,000 tonnes of seed from the Pakistan Agric­ulture Storage and Services Corpor­ation (Passco), out of which 60,000 tonnes of seeds have 75 per cent germination matter and has up to 3pc inert matter. About 150,000 tonnes has been tested from Punjab Food Department for emergency.

The ministry says a mechanism for procurement of seed has also been devised and will share the standard operating procedures with provinces.

These latest data were revealed during a meeting of the Wheat Review Comm­ittee on Wednesday to discuss fixation of minimum support price for wheat and other related issues. Minister for National Food Security Syed Fakhr Imam, who chaired the meeting, said the ministry has identified certified wheat seed for the first time to make the country wheat secure.

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2020