Agriculture sector Pakistan, Brazil likely to sign MoU in November

Pakistan and Brazil are likely to sign a Memorandum of Understanding in November to boost bilateral co-operation in the agriculture sector. In this connection, Economic Affairs Division and Ministry of Foreign Affairs are preparing the draft pact, which would be completed within a month.
This was stated by Chairman Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (Parc) Dr Iftikhar Ahmed while meeting a six-member Brazilian delegation, which called on him, here on Tuesday. Chairman Parc briefed the visiting delegation about the various research activities being carried out by Parc at national as well as the provincial level in collaboration with provincial agriculture research institutions.
While briefing the delegation, he said that Parc is the apex agricultural research organisation at the national level with the main objective to strengthen national agricultural research system, comprising the federal and provincial components. He said in Pakistan, all the four provinces have established a large number of institutions to meet the specific needs for agricultural research.
The activities of these institutions need to be co-ordinated at national level to make judicious use of resources in terms of men, money and material. Parc is the only organisation in the country with a mandate to co-ordinate agricultural research, being carried out in the provincial as well as federal institutions and the universities, he added.
Dr Iftikhar apprised the delegation that Parc conducts research, specially of a basic and long term nature in the areas of national importance, which are either neglected or inadequately covered or are beyond the resources of the provincial institutions. They require sophisticated and costly equipment and facilities as well as highly qualified but scarce manpower and frequent interaction with the international agricultural research institutions.
Experts from the federal and provincial institutions identified that Exchange of germless for sugarcane is need of hour as Brazil has strong programme in sugarcane production. It was also agreed that Parc and provincial sugarcane expert team leaders will visit Brazil for further debate for sugarcane productivity and processing.
Bruno de Amorim Maciel, Project Analyst Brazilian Co-operation Ageincy (ABC) said that there was a great potential for co-operation between Pakistan and Brazil in the field of agricultural research hybrid seed production, Fruit /vegetable production, bio fuel, resource conservation and pests control technologies. He said that Brazil had an advance ethanol producing technology.
The Brazilian delegation also included Gabriel Alves Maciel, Expert on Genetic Enhancement, Vanildo Alberto Leal Bezerra Cavalcanti, expert on pathology and Minucio Monteiro Filho, Expert on Technical Assistance and Rural Extension. The meeting was attended by technical members of the Parc; provincial director generals of agricultural research institutions and secretary, agriculture, KPK.