Availability of certified potato seed: Pakistan-South Korea joint project plays key role: minister

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan-Korea collaborative project worth Rs 985.067 million on certified seed potato production has played a key role in enhancing the availability of certified potato seed in the country, said Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain on Wednesday.

The total cost of the Pakistan-Korea collaborative project on certified seed potato production is Rs 985.067 million, which is being financed jointly by the government of Pakistan and the government of Korea. Pakistan is contributing Rs 360.067 million through the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), while the Korean government is providing Rs 625 million through the Korea Partnership for Innovation of Agriculture (KOPIA).

The five-year-long project was started on November 16, 2023, and it will be completed on November 15, 2028.

The project covers an area of approximately 476,200 hectares, with an annual potato production of 12.78 million tons. The main objective of the project is to produce and supply certified seed potatoes, develop aeroponic infrastructure (process of cultivating plants in an air or mist environment) for quality seed potato production, and enhance the technical capacity of relevant personnel through capacity-building and training programmes.

The minister, while addressing an inauguration ceremony of seed potato production in autumn 2026, said that meaningful progress has been made in increasing the local production of disease-free and high-quality potato seed in the country.

He said that the cooperation between Pakistan and South Korea in the field of potato seed production had helped in producing quality potato seed.

The minister said that Pakistan and South Korea were also cooperating in livestock improvement, fodder production and rural seed businesses. The two countries would further increase cooperation in smart agriculture, horticulture and agricultural mechanisation to promote modern and sustainable agricultural practices in Pakistan, he said.

Hussain said that modern cultivation techniques for producing quality potato seed would help meet the country’s food requirements. Pakistan was promoting local production to reduce its dependence on expensive imported potato seed, he said.

He said that a target has been set to produce 160,000 tons of certified potato seed annually in the country. Locally produced certified seed would meet approximately one-third of the country’s overall requirement, he added.

The minister said that the availability of disease-free and quality seed would help increase potato yields and improve farmers’ incomes. Modern agricultural practices and technologies would be transferred from research centres to farmers and the private sector, he said.

Ambassador of Korea Han Sungho said the certified seed potato project was a practical example of bilateral cooperation that could directly benefit farmers. He expressed his support for further collaboration in modern agricultural technologies, knowledge sharing and capacity building.

Chairman of the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), Dr Murtaza Hassan Andrabi, said that PARC and the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) were committed to developing research-based solutions for Pakistan’s agricultural challenges.

He said the Pakistan-Korea partnership was strengthening the country’s certified seed production system and introducing modern technologies that could improve productivity and reduce reliance on imported planting material.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026