Experts stress production of soybean seeds to curtail imports

FAISALABAD: It is a matter of grave concern that the country is importing as many as 88 percent edible oil of its consumption and its import bill exceeds $3 billion a year.

This concern was showed by speakers at the inaugural session of International Conference titled Soybeans: Challenges and Opportunities arranged by the Department of Agronomy under the Turkish’s Mevlana Exchange Programme at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF).

The inaugural session was chaired by Divisional Commissioner Asif Iqbal Ch as a chief guest while UAF Vice Chancellor Dr Zafar Iqbal Randhawa was the guest of honour. The commissioner urged the agriculture experts to introduce viable technologies to promote soybean cultivation, coupled with its market, to facilitate the farmers to sell their produce and earn profit. It will ultimately increase production of edible oil commodities across the country. He said before the participation, British rulers introduced the canal system in Sandal Bar that turned sand dunes into fertile fields. “Now it is our responsibility to promote modern agricultural practices in the country to meet the target of food security and poverty alleviation effectively. The local production of edible oil stands at 0.431 million tonnes (12 per cent) whereas the total imported edible oil stands at 3.191 million tonnes (88 per cent). Therefore, the total availability of edible oil touched 3.623 million tonnes,” he informed.

UAF VC Dr Zafar Iqbal Randhawa said that they would constitute a committee of focus working group comprising young scientists to conduct research and development on soybean. “We have to build our capacity in the seed technology as the country imports seeds of different crops worth billions of rupees. The country is spending one billion dollars annually only on import of soybean oil. If we become able to develop the market of soybean for farming community, it will increase the oil production,” he added.

Randhawa said that under the Prime Minster’s Plant for Pakistan Programme, the university and the district government would arrange a mega event by taking all stakeholders, including the forest department, PHA, irrigation department and others on board to plant thousands of saplings in a minute and set a new record in this regard.

Director Oilseed Research Institute Ayub Agricultural Research Institute (AARI), Dr M Aftab talked about climatic conditions for growing soybean. He said soybean grows well in the regions having mild climate with low temperature (30 degree Celsius). It should be well drained and fertile loam soils with a pH between 6.0 and 7.5.

Talking about the role of his institute for promotion of soybean, he said they had collection, maintenance and evaluation of soybean germplasm entries (300 entries). They were working on breeding programme for the development of new soybean varieties having better adaptability for local climate.