ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) in collaboration with the Korean Program on International Agriculture (KOPIA) would provide a 100-kilowatt solar system for seed potato production using aeroponics technology to boost virus-free seed production in the country.
The KOPIA-Pakistan Center also intended to provide about 160,000 tons of certified seed potatoes during the next five years under its Technical Cooperation Project, which will further strengthen the government’s efforts to produce certified high-yielding seed potatoes to enhance its output in the country, said Chairman PARC Dr Ghulam Muhammad Ali.
He said that the other objectives of the project are cutting potato production costs, boosting yields with quality seed potatoes and achieving self-sufficiency by establishing a sustainable system with aeroponic technology and trained staff.
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He further said that during the period under review, 04 aeroponics greenhouses and 32 screen-houses would also be constructed, which would enable self-sufficiency in the production of virus-free seed potatos production.
Currently, only 2% of Pakistan’s potato seed requirement is being fulfilled locally and we depend on importing 98% of its seed demand, he said adding that implementation of this facility, Pakistan is poised to achieve self-sufficiency in potato seed production.
Chairman PARC said that aeroponic technology will yield 50 to 60 potato seeds per plant compared to just five from conventional methods. Pakistan currently imports 15,000 to 20,000 tonnes of potato seeds yearly due to low-quality local seeds, straining farmers who can’t afford better options and resulting in lower yields, he added.
