May 18, 2015
Source: CIMMYT Blog
by Attiq Ur Rehman, Tariq Saleem, Mike Listman and Krishna Dev Joshi
Participants at training course at NMRP, Rampur on 17th April, 2015 - Photo: NMRP
CIMMYT organized a one-day training session and on-farm demonstration on 17 March 2015 on participatory wheat variety selection, during which nine newly released, high yielding, rust resistant wheat varieties were introduced to smallholders in the 13 districts of Balochistan Province, Pakistan. This is the first time in the history of the province that such a large number of wheat varieties has been evaluated and deployed. These activities were supported by seed producers in collaboration with Quetta’s Agriculture Research Institute (ARI), Balochistan Agricultural Research and Development Centre (BARDC), Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) and Department of Agriculture Extension.
Due to its harsh terrain and water scarcity, Balochistan, despite being the largest province in Pakistan, has only about 5% of Pakistan’s total population, the country’s lowest population density. This, coupled with farmers’ use of old crop varieties and inefficient technologies, has resulted in nearly 72% of the districts in Balochistan being wheat-deficient and completely dependent on Sindh and Punjab Provinces for their food security.
“This is first time in Balochistan that we have had the opportunity to interact with all seed value chain actors in one platform,” said Ali Ahmad, a progressive farmer from Mastoong District. The training, held in Quetta, capital of Balochistan, was jointly implemented by CIMMYT, ARI, BARDC and the Department of Agricultural Extension and focused on wheat seed quality management. This was the first event of its kind organized by CIMMYT in Balochistan, with participants including stakeholders from the entire seed value chain.
Pakistan’s seed industry meets about 20-23% of total seed demand, with the informal seed sector supplying most farmers. Balochistan’s organized seed sector is almost non-existent, with only one registered seed company that produces less than 1% of the province’s certified seed. The lack of quality seed in Balochistan has led to low crop productivity, compared to other provinces. “We have wheat varieties with a yield potential of 6.5 tons per hectare, but farmers are able to harvest only about one third of that,” said Muhammad Hussain, ARI Director.
The training sessions allowed 30 farmers, wheat breeders, Kashmala Seed Company officials and federal seed inspectors to interact and evaluate their roles in the wheat seed value chain. Wheat seed market development and rural seed enterprise development were the central themes of the training course to help farmers and their communities develop seed businesses in remote rural areas with limited access to seed of new varieties. Other training subjects included agronomic practices to produce quality seed, wheat varieties best adapted to the province’s different agro-ecologies, parameters for determining moisture content, and best practices to ensure quality of stored seed.
Seed growers also received updates on the newly released varieties, production technologies, the rusts and other diseases.
Wheat growers in Baluchistan have been planting more than half a dozen out-of-date wheat varieties, two of which are more than 35 years old. The most recent and popular variety is 10 years old. Practical hands-on skills for producing quality wheat seed and its management are important for participant farmers and other farmers in the province. This new knowledge and enhanced understanding of wheat seed is the first step towards sustainably enhancing wheat productivity in Balochistan.
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