Monitoring Desk
BEIJING: Pakistan imports a major portion of potato seeds from other countries; however, it is expensive, and farmers hardly afford it. This was stated by Dr Babar Ijaz, the person in charge of overseas projects, Shandong Rainbow Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd, on Friday, adding that the Pak-China tissue laboratory was committed to producing high-quality potatoes locally to lower the burden on the export of foreign seeds.
Potato is one of the major crops that Pakistan fulfilled its demand for and exported outside. Most of the crops were damaged by floods last year; however, production of potatoes increased to 7.937 million tonnes in Fiscal Year 22 from 5.873 million tonnes in Fiscal Year 21, as most of the Potato cultivated land was out of flood area.
Potato production in Pakistan
Director Sahiwal Potato Research Institute Syed Ijaz ul Hassan remarked that Potato has a high initial cost of production as about 35-40 percent is spent on seeds. To resolve the issue, Chinese and Pakistani enterprises have been working together to find opportunities for better cooperation.
He added that the most common diseases of potatoes in Pakistan comprise early blight, stem rot, etc. However, the varieties from China are more resistant to pests and diseases with higher production.
Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences is working with Pakistani enterprises to enhance potato production. Currently, a small-scale tissue culture facility of the first phase of the laboratory is under planning, with a target to produce 500 mu (33.3 hectares), equivalent to around 1,500 tons of potato seeds, while the second phase will handle 10,000 tons of Potato.
