Faisalabad:Chief Scientist Oilseed Dr Hafiz Muhammad Bashir said on Thursday that Pakistan’s agricultural scientists had developed locally adapted soybean varieties capable of delivering strong yields even at temperatures of up to 45 degrees Celsius, opening a significant opportunity to reduce the country’s dependence on imported soybean and save up to $1 billion in foreign exchange.
Addressing a ceremony held to mark National Soybean Day at the Main Library Hall of Ayub Agricultural Research Institute (AARI), he said that Pakistan currently imported around two million tonnes of soybean annually from the United States, Brazil and Australia to meet domestic requirements of the poultry and livestock feed industries, involving substantial expenditure of foreign exchange.
He said that wider adoption of locally developed soybean varieties, coupled with improved per-acre productivity, could substantially reduce the country’s soybean import bill. He said that development of climate-resilient varieties was particularly significant in view of Pakistan’s high temperatures and changing climatic conditions.
He said that agricultural sector had considerable potential for growth through implementation of CPEC Phase-II, adding that Pakistan was strengthening cooperation with China to benefit from its industrial and agricultural development experience. ‘Greater cooperation under CPEC Phase-II can help transform agriculture, livestock, fisheries and fruit production while also creating new opportunities for exports’, he said.
Increased agricultural incomes would contribute to greater economic stability by improving the financial position of farmers and strengthening rural economies, he added.
The National Soybean Day event brought together a large number of agricultural scientists from the Oilseeds Research Institute, National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) and National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE), besides professors from agricultural universities, agricultural experts, exporters, representatives of the solvent extraction and poultry industries and progressive farmers.
The event was organized with the primary objective of developing a roadmap for joint efforts under public-private partnership to promote soybean cultivation and increase its productivity in Pakistan.
A consensus emerged among stakeholders that comprehensive technical guidance for farmers and provision of remunerative prices for soybean were essential to expanding its cultivation.
The participants stressed that greater coordination between researchers, farmers, seed companies, solvent extraction units and the poultry industry could help establish a sustainable domestic soybean value chain.
Oilseed expert Hafiz Saad Bin Mustafa said that Pakistan’s population was increasing by more than 4.5 million people annually, creating mounting pressure on the agriculture sector to meet growing food requirements, particularly for milk and meat.
He said that increasing agricultural productivity had become imperative to address the challenges posed by climate change as well as the rising demand for food and livestock products.
He said that AARI had introduced locally adapted varieties of high-value crops used in poultry feed, including maize, camelina, sunflower and soybean, with the objective of increasing per-acre productivity and supporting the expansion of livestock and poultry production and exports.
Soybean experts Dr Ghulam Raza, Dr Zaheer Ahmed, Dr Ahmad Din and Dr Mehr-un-Nisa of NARC, along with Director Agriculture Extension Chaudhry Khalid Mahmood and agricultural scientists from NIBGE, briefed participants on modern soybean production technology.
The experts said that soybean cultivation traditionally required relatively moderate temperatures in major producing countries, but Pakistani researchers had developed varieties capable of maintaining productive performance under much hotter conditions, ranging from 40 to 45 degrees Celsius.
They said that soybean cultivation in Pakistan was now being undertaken in both spring and autumn seasons, providing farmers with greater flexibility in crop planning. With the recommended production technology and locally adapted varieties, farmers could potentially obtain yields of around 35 to 40 maunds per acre, they added.
The experts also highlighted the potential of soybean value addition, saying products derived from soybean could be used in the preparation of different foods while commercialization of soy milk had also gained ground.
The progressive farmers participating in the event said the solvent extraction and poultry industries could play a decisive role in expanding local soybean cultivation by offering farmers profitable prices comparable to those available for maize.
They said that if an effective price and procurement mechanism was established, Pakistan could potentially move towards self-sufficiency in soybean production within the next two to three years. The increased domestic soybean production could also strengthen the poultry feed industry and create possibilities for exporting surplus feed to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Gulf and Middle Eastern markets, they added.
Dr Imran Ashraf, representative of a private seed company, appreciated the efforts being made to promote soybean cultivation and said his company was prepared to purchase the crop from farmers while keeping their economic interests in view.
Dr Khalid Mahmood Shouq and Rana Muhammad Khan, President Anjuman Kashtkaran, also attended the National Soybean Day ceremony and assured the farming community that their concerns would be conveyed to the relevant authorities.