Climate smart crops envisaged

LAHORE: Pakistan High-Tech Hybrid Seed Association (PHHSA) on Saturday vowed to introduce high-yielding, diseases-resistant, and climate smart seeds to bolster agri production in the country.

The seed sector should be streamlined in line with latest trend in the international market, said Shahzad Ali Malik, founding chairman of the new accredited body.

Malik said they would run the body in partnership with local companies by employing an innovative and proactive approach. He also shared that PHHSA had been granted license from the directorate general of trade organization, ministry of Commerce.

The chairman added that he had plans to take up issues of the domestic seed industry such as imposition of 17 percent sales tax on seeds, restrictions on inter-district movement of wheat seeds, and other issues related to high cost of production.

Other office bearers of the association include Shafiq Ur Rehman, senior vice chairman and Nadeem Qureshi, vice chairman. It may be noted that local seed companies earlier had been represented by Seed Association of Pakistan (SAP).

However, despite efforts made by successive governments to regularise seed business, it is alleged that SAP as a platform could not become part of the exercise aiming at providing quality seeds to farmers. The election process has also not been followed by ruling group of SA for the last couple of years.

In such state of affairs, Shahzad Ali Malik, who was also founding Chairman of SAP and CEO of Guard Agri Services took initiative to reorganise body of local seed companies working on modern lines. The multinational seed companies are representated by Crop Life Pakistan.