The Pakistan Agricultural Research Council(PARC) (ہیئت برائے زرعی تحقیق پاکستان) is based in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Mission and achievements
It works in collaboration with Ministry of National Food Security and Research which is headed by a Federal Minister, Tariq Bashir Cheema who is heading the ministry since April 2022. It is an apex agricultural research organization at the national level. Its main objective is to strengthen Pakistan's agricultural research system, comprising the federal and provincial components.[1]
Dr. Ghulam Muhammad Ali is the current Chairman of PARC, a scientist. His visionary approach has taken PARC to real apex position. Dr. Ali is accompanied with the technical members for different divisions in PARC. Among them Dr. Imtiaz Hussain is Member of Plant Sciences Division, Dr. Shahid Maqsood Gill (Member Natural Resource Division), Dr, Zia ul Hasan (Member Animal Sciences Division), Dr. Ghulam Sadiq Afridi (Member Social Sciences Division). Agricultural Engineering Division is headed by Engineer Zulfiqar Ali. The technical assistance is provided by Dr. Faisal Sohail Fateh (Director Technical).
National Agricultural Research Centre is the largest research establishment under PARC in Islamabad. The Director General in charge is Dr. Shahzad Asad.
In 2019, Pakistan was able to produce 20 new high-yielding, disease resistant and climate change-resilient wheat and maize (also called corn) varieties. This was achieved mainly due to the partnership between the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center and the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC). USAID, the US development agency also supported this project.[2]
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