NARC termed nerve centre for national food security

PESHAWAR: Experts have said the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) Islamabad is performing key functions to sustain food security in the country and its conversion into a housing scheme would undermine the critical component of the national security.
They said the NARC is a base for systematic research on food and agricultural commodities. “Unlike wheat and rice, important crops such as banana, canola, hybrid corn, sunflower; and apples, kinnow, nectarine, and many more were not inherited during the partition in 1947 but are entirely new creations,” said one of the experts.
The experts noted that because of pests and diseases, banana, chilli, cotton and wheat crops had failed during 1980s with huge socioeconomic losses. However, the scientists at the NARC conducted research and provided strategic support to provincial research institutions to find solution to the problem.
The efforts in controlling the novel diseases were widely recognised. The Rust Resistance in wheat, SAR Influenza Vaccine for poultry and Banana Virus Research materials are used as reference tools globally and are kept intact at the NARC.
To safeguards food adequacy for the growing population these strategic research efforts at NARC need further strengthening, said one of the experts, adding, the Coordinated Research Programme based at NARC is unique.
“It is a think-tank that provides knowledge, physical and financial support to provincial scientists and accurate data to federal ministries,” the expert said while requesting anonymity, adding, National Assembly Committee on Agriculture, the Prices Commission and the Planning Commission relies heavily for crop commodities data compiled by the coordinators.
The experts said the data was used in fulfilling global treaties obligations in food and the environment and also for negotiations with donors.
The NARC’s infrastructure was erected with grants from USAID in 1980 and further strengthened with soft loans by the World Bank.
Strategic research programmes were supported through expertise, advice and finances by the Canadians, Dutch, Italians, Germans and the Japanese. About 400 scientists with PhDs degrees associated with the programme were trained in these countries.
The core of scientists is stationed at NARC, which is a collective effort of local and international community that serves as a linkage between federal and provincial entities.
The facility also provides footholds for prototype development research projects, development projects including virus-free seed potato in Gilgit-Baltistan, off-season vegetables in Kalam and Kaghan, tunnel technology along the Peshawar-Rawalpindi GT Road; drip and sprinkle irrigation in Barani areas, and honey bees and fish farming have brought prosperity to farmers, businessmen, peasants and the landless entrepreneur.
A former official said prototype research models of these projects were first created at NARC with huge investment in terms of man-hour and money.
The models were subsequently replicated across the country. These prototype models are maintained at NARC for reference.
The NARC has accumulated priceless varieties of local and imported trees of peaches, plums, nectarine and olives since 1980.
“A similar repository for apples is maintained in upper Swat. With climate change looming and novel pest and diseases continuously emerging, retaining the genetic material (rootstocks and scions) is like an insurance policy for the horticultural industry. Vegetable seeds are similarly maintained in the field and in the laboratory. Uprooting the repository will be hard to justify,” said the expert.
The expert said the NARC was genuinely an upfront national centre of agricultural sciences which took 35 years to mature.