20000226

Govt to encourage

seed production

technology, says Zakir

RECORDER REPORT

MULTAN: Dr Zakir Hussain, Cotton Commissioner, Government of Pakistan, has said that the government will encourage the private seed industry in the country to produce quality seed not only of cotton and wheat but also vegetables and edible oils.

Speaking at the concluding session of a four-day training programme arranged by the federal seed certification and registration department here on Friday at the Central Cotton Research Institute, Dr Zakir Hussain called upon the private seed industry to come forward and start corporate agriculture business in Balochistan, NWFP and Sindh and to produce hybrid seed of vegetables, canola, sunflower and promote seed technology and marketing system.

He said that the government would provide land to the private seed industry in Balochistan and NWFP for corporate farming and seed hybridisation.

Dr Zakir said that the government wanted to promote production of quality seed in the country by private seed industry, however, the government would regulate the business and ensure that this industry would provide seed to the farmers at cheaper rates.

He said that the growers were the backbone of the country and as such this industry should not harm them. He said that there was great scope and future of private industry to produce quality seed of vegetables which were at present being imported from abroad by spending valuable foreign exchange.

Dr Zakir said the government would ensure free inter-district and inter-provinces transpiration of seeds by cotton, wheat etc. In future, he assured the chamber of agriculture, the government would consult their representatives before finalising amendments in the seed certificate act.

He said that Dr Zafar Altaf, agriculture secretary, was taking keen interest in the production of quality seed by the private sector.

Earlier, Dr Qaider Rashid of Roberts Cotton Association while speaking at the function said that the training course was the first of its kind in the country which shows that the federal government attached great importance to the production of seed by the private sector and he lauded the efforts of Dr Zafar Altaf, federal secretary for agriculture for bringing the private sector in the seed industry, he also stressed the need for the production of seeds of vegetables for saving foreign exchange about 900 million per annum and to increase productivity by providing quality seed to the growers. He also demanded of the government to allow the sale of the seed of MNH-552 for commercial cultivation in the country.

Mian Muhammad Akram, General Secretary, chamber of private seed industry demanded of the government to arrange training courses to the staff of the seed industry for the production of hybrid seed of cotton and vegetables.

The function was attended among others by Dr Zahoor Ahmed, Director, CCPL, Dr Mahbub Ali, scientist emeritus, Dr Malik Turner, Dr Akhlaq Hussain, D G, FSC and RD and representatives of private seed companies from Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and NWFP.

The participants also visited farms of RCA, Punjab Seed Corporation and Syed Siddique Akbar Bukhari, a progressive cotton grower in Khanewal district, to observe the techniques and technology of cotton seed production.