In a bide to achieve self-sufficiency in pulses production for reducing the reliance on imported leguminous, the Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) has provided about 12 portable irrigation systems to growers of different areas under its pulses enhancement project.
Besides, the council had also released 15 varieties of different pulses and provided subsidized seeds of different beans to over 41,705 farmers across the pulses production areas in the country, said Chairman Pakistan Agriculture Research Council Dr Ghulam Muhammad Ali.
Talking to APP, he on Monday, he said that the seeds of different pulses were provided to local farmers on 50% subsidy, aiming at to enhance per-acre output of different pulses for attaining self-sufficiency in leguminous production.
The other objective of the initiative was to reduce the reliance on imported pulses which were consuming billion of dollars annually as well as to fulfill nutrient requirements in less developed areas of the country, he added.
Under the program, national pulses policy frame work was developed, besides organizing 3 stakeholders traveling seminars and distribution of pulses machinery among the farmers across the four provinces, adding that after the commencement of program country’s mung bean production was 133 thousand tons, which enhanced to 209 thousand tons after first year of interventions.
He said that the council had also introduced other intervention included on provision of improved seed varieties on 50% subsidy, farmers capacity building, and on-farmers’ field demonstration plots with improved production technology.
During 2021, the production of mung bean reached to 253 thousand tons attaining self- sufficiency level for the country as local national demand was estimated at 180 thousand tons, he added.
In order to develop resilience against malnutrition and hunger in natural resource constraint areas of Thar Parker, PARC had conducted 07 training programs and trained over 1,000 people to promote agriculture sector at micro-level, he added.
Dr Ali further said that under the initiative over 1,000 people including farmers, agriculture extension workers, social activists and members of non-governmental organizations provided basic training for agriculture promotion in the areas with less resources.—APP
