ISLAMABAD: Punjab Governor Baligh ur-Rehman has congratulated the CEO of Guard Agricultural Research and Services, Shahzad Ali Malik, on the development of two new high-quality varieties of rice in the private sector.
The governor emphasized that the government will fully support and encourage the private sector to develop new varieties of seeds for all crops, as agriculture is the backbone of the national economy.
He also said that to achieve food self-sufficiency, a high provincial seed committee has been formed to help evolve new best-quality seeds for bumper crops, under the explicit direction of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.
Malik expressed his gratitude to the governor for congratulating him, and informed that the Punjab Seed Council has approved two new varieties of rice, Guard 101 and Guard 102, after the successful completion of the thorough process. These “Open Pollinated” extra long grain rice varieties ensure a 20-25 percent higher per-acre yield with maturity within 90 days of sowing.
He also highlighted that the new varieties have high export potential and are attractive for farmers due to the low cost and higher per-acre yield.
Malik also mentioned that they have been engaged in rice seed research since 1989 in collaboration with China in the private sector without any government support. They have already successfully developed 5 hi-tech hybrid rice seed varieties that suit the country’s climate and give better production.
They are also conducting research and development on cotton and wheat hybrid seeds in collaboration with Chinese academic institutes and hope to make a breakthrough in the near future.
