Islamabad, July 5, 2025: The Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), the country’s top agricultural research body, has effectively become non-functional following its complete exclusion from the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for the fiscal year 2025–26. Despite repeated government pledges to prioritize the agriculture sector, no research project under PARC has been allocated PSDP funding for the new fiscal year.
As a result, research activity at PARC’s flagship institution, the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), has come to a halt. The council will undertake only one project this year — the production of certified potato seed in collaboration with South Korea.
According to official sources, the government has suspended two ongoing PARC-led projects: one focused on increasing pulse production and another aimed at upgrading the Mountain Research Centre in Gilgit-Baltistan. While five new projects under the Ministry of National Food Security and Research were included in the PSDP, none are linked to PARC.
Confirming the development, PARC Chairman Dr. Ghulam Muhammad Ali said that “no research-related projects at NARC have been approved for 2025–26.”
One of the new approved projects is the establishment of a multi-disciplinary agricultural research institute in Sheikhupura — the home constituency of Federal Minister for Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain. The project, located in a key wheat and Basmati rice-producing zone, has been allocated Rs3.8 billion over five years.
Meanwhile, National Food Security Secretary Waseem Ajmal Chaudhary informed the National Assembly Standing Committee on National Food Security that the ministry’s development budget has been slashed from Rs24 billion to just Rs4.7 billion due to fiscal tightening under the IMF programme. The committee expressed concern over the exclusion of previously discussed projects, including the much-anticipated Dates Research Centre in Khairpur.
Other projects approved under the ministry include Pakistan National Sugar and Sugarcane Monitoring System, Financial Incentive Programme for Sustainable Agri-business and Aquaculture Development, Revival of Cotton in Pakistan and Pak-Ar-Zameen Card Project.
PARC, established in 1981 to spearhead agricultural research in partnership with federal and provincial bodies, had initially submitted 15 project proposals for PSDP 2025–26, with an estimated cost exceeding Rs24 billion. Seven were shortlisted by the ministry, but all were ultimately dropped.
Among the abandoned projects was a proposal to establish a Rs10 billion endowment fund to support agricultural R&D — also rejected due to financial constraints.
The dropped proposals included Promotion of climate-resilient, high-value horticultural crops (pistachio, almond, walnut, pecan) in Balochistan, Establishment of a Date Palm Research and Post-Harvest Management Institute in Khairpur, Breeding improved cattle and buffalo for enhanced milk and meat production, Development of advanced agricultural machinery capacity and A degree-awarding agricultural institute at PARC.
The proposed Khairpur Date Palm Institute had gained support from the National Assembly Standing Committee on Food Security. Khairpur, which produces 80% of Sindh’s dates, also hosts a Special Economic Zone with immense potential for agri-based entrepreneurship and export growth.
In Balochistan, the Rs800 million horticulture project aimed to establish mother orchards and develop rootstocks for high-yield local and exotic nut varieties — a key step in climate adaptation and income generation.
Experts warn that the lack of investment in agricultural research will have long-term consequences for food security, productivity, and rural livelihoods. Many in the agricultural sector are calling on the federal government to reconsider its funding priorities before irreversible damage is done to Pakistan’s research capacity.
