LAHORE: The University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) and a private agricultural research company have joined hands to develop and commercialise hybrid wheat in Pakistan with UAF Vice Chancellor Dr Zulfikar Ali setting a target of a 20pc increase in yield per acre through the new seed technology.

A three-year Letter of Intent, signed by the UAF vice chancellor and Guard Agriculture Chief Executive Shahzad Ali Malik, provides for joint research, multi-location field trials, evaluation of breeding material and potential commercialisation of hybrid wheat. Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) President Ali Hussam Asghar witnessed the signing.

Under the agreement, the UAF will provide expertise in genetics, breedingand agronomy, facilitate access to breeding material and support laboratory, greenhouse and field research. Guard Agriculture will assist with multi-location trials, commercial feasibility assessments and seed production facilities, besides providing research grants, PhD support, master`s fellowships and internships.

The two organisations will also arrange training programmes, workshops, field demonstrations and exchanges for researchers, technical staff and students. Intellectual property, breeding material, technology and research outputs generated jointly under the collaboration will be jointly owned.

Dr Zulfikar said the proposed hybrid wheat seed could help increase production without raising farmers` input costs but yield gains would also depend onimproved agronomic practices and the adoption of good agricultural practices (GAP). He explained that wheat productivity depended on several factors, adding that the proposed hybrid varieties were expected to deliver about 20pc higher yields under suitable conditions.

With proper GAP, wheat production could reach 98 maunds per acre, he claimed, while emphasising the need to improve crop management alongside seed technology.

The UAF vice chancellor said his university had been working on hybrid wheat research for around 15 years in collaboration with an Australian university. He said Pakistan`s research in the field had advanced considerably, with international interest in the work, and stressed that industry and academiawould have to work together to turn scientific progress into a commercially viable technology.

Shahzad Ali Malik said it could take another three to four years to bring hybrid wheat to the commercial stage.

He said Guard Agriculture had introduced hybrid rice in Pakistan, particularly in Sindh, helping improve farmers` economic prospects, and now wanted to contribute to higher wheat productivity.

He said recent discussions had also covered the revival of cotton cultivation and genetically modified corn.

LCCI President Ali Hussam Asghar also spoke. Representatives of seed companies, including Sajjad Sulaiman Malik and Momin Ali Malik of Guard`s Executive Seed Division, attended the ceremony. Staff Reporter