Pakistan will join the global rice seed exporters club after Guard Agricultural Research and Services (Pvt) Limited is expecting to start exporting hybrid rice seed to Philippines by the end of November. 'We have a good harvest of rice seed of hybrid varieties, which is now in the processing phase in Lahore and it is expected that we may be able to export 50-70 metric tons of seed this year,' said Guard Agricultural Senior Executive Seed Division, Shah Rukh Malik while talking to Business Recorder at the Company's 10th sales conference here the other day.

The hybrid varieties developed and tested in collaboration with the Chinese partners and it is aimed that in next five years export of hybrid rice seed should reach to 2000-5000 metric tons, he added. Earlier speaking to the participants of the sales conference, he also disclosed that they have also launched a project to develop hybrid for Basmati rice too. He said that 15 to 20 senior Chinese scientists come to Pakistan every year to work on the Basmati hybrid. He hoped that soon this hybrid will also be available to farmers of the country.

Throwing achievement of his company, he said that they have also started production of maize hybrid locally. He said that his company has a share of 59 percent in the total hybrid rice market of the country. Another Senior Executive Shahjahan Malik said that their company is growing at the rate of average 22 percent. He said year 2015 was a tough year for rice sector but 2016 saw a growth of 27 percent of their domestic sale while in 2017 they have achieved a growth of 22 percent till date.

Shahzad Ali Malik, Chief Executive Officer of Guard Agri said that efforts of his company to promote hybrid rice seed in Pakistan helped farmers in some of the poorest rice growing areas of Sindh and Balochistan to double the per acre yield, incomes and improving living standard.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2017