robust agriculture sector can bring prosperity for farmers by increasing productivity, employment and incomes. Adopting new crops and innovative practices to meet the increasing demand for food can increase its contribution to the national economy and help alleviate poverty. Agriculture is the main employer in rural areas.

A group of overseas Pakistanis have pooled their resources, expertise and efforts to promote a new variety of garlic (G1) produced by the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC).

A large number of farmers are now producing this garlic. It has the highest yield of garlic varieties in Pakistan. G1 garlic has other advantages, too, including longer shelf life.

During the last forty three years only two local varieties – the desi gulabi and 756 variety - have been cultivated in the country. The indigenous varieties are small-bulb varieties. Their cloves are not easily peeled and some of the meat is lost in the process. NARC G1 has four times higher production than both these varieties.

In recent years, some farmers have continued to cultivate imported varieties (the Chinese white elephant and a Turkish variety) to have higher production but these varieties have failed to garner acceptability among the consumers.

NARC-G1 has been under observation for mass production as well as documentation of its pharmaceutical and therapeutic benefits. Humayun Khan was the principal scientist for NARC-G1 variety. His research was widely appreciated but the variety was not mass-produced.

According to Fruit, Vegetables and Condiment Statistics of Pakistan 2014-15, the production of garlic in Pakistan was 72,987 tonnes from an area of 7,973 hectares with an average yield of 9.15 tonnes/ hectare.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the leading garlic producing province with an average production of 34,167 tonnes followed by the Punjab (25,079 tons), Balochistan (7,491 tons) and Sindh (6,250 tons). The highest yields are obtained in the KP (12.12 T/ ha) followed by Balochistan (8.82 T/ ha).

Uzbekistan is the most efficient garlic-producing country in the world with 26.7 metric tonnes per hectare T/ ha) followed by Haiti (26.3 T/ha) and China (25.4 T/ ha) while Pakistan produces 8.6 T/ha, which is 3.5 times less than top-yielding countries.

In recent years, the area under G1 cultivation has been between 4,500 and 5,000 acres. Some progressive farmers will join this year with hundreds of acres. The seed availability is only about 35 to 40 percent of the new farmers’ demand. Sixty to 65 percent of the seed will be retained by the growers and investors for further multiplication.

For many year, overseas Pakistanis have been investing in the real estate sector. This time, investment is being made in the agriculture sector. 

NARC G1 has all the nutrient benefits of earlier garlic varieties and doesn’t sprout even if it is stored in household baskets or godowns for a year. Its freshness remains intact for longer. Due to these qualities, G1 garlic has the potential to replace all other varieties in five to six years.

The difference in agro-climatic conditions for garlic cultivation affects the production. Given its compatibility with harsh environments, NARC-G1 has attracted many progressive farmers.

NARC-G1 cultivation can help cut garlic import in the country as low yields have resulted in the import of garlic to meet the demand. Currently, Pakistan is importing 40,303 tonnes of garlic from China, India and Chile. The import costs about Rs 45.71 billion. The problem can be resolved by producing high-yielding garlic to cover the international yield gap.

Garlic cloves are separated individually and planted by hands two inches deep and four inches apart on ridges and flat seedbeds by local labour. Hand-planting is the preferred method, as machine-planted cloves are not evenly distributed.

The garlic variety has extraordinarily high yield and phenotype traits in comparison to other locally cultivated varieties, for instance, Italian garlic, desi gulabi garlic and Chinese garlic.

Overseas Pakistanis have been investing in the real estate sector for many years. This time the investment is being made in the agriculture sector. G1 garlic cultivators prefer to use wasteland on cheap leases to cut cost. This makes more land productive.

G1 garlic cultivation can encourage farmers to explore more varieties of various foods. The cultivation can also encourage research on ways to enhance the yield and duration of crop varieties.

There is a need for more research on crop varieties maturing in 100-110 days.

Engaging small farmers requires the provision of quality seeds, technical assistance and market access. The small farmers can revolutionise the cultivation of innovative crops. Currently, multinational corporations encourage certain varieties of potato, corn and other crops but in those deals farmers have limited options. G1 garlic, on the other hand, will be in the market in the next four to five years.

NARC-G1 garlic is being presented to several research institutions including in Switzerland to further refine the quality of the garlic. The research findings will be shared with Pakistani institutions.

Modern renewable energy technologies and state-of-the-art soil testing devices are being used in the G1 garlic fields. To reduce the impact of unwanted environmental fluctuations, a modern forecasting system is being used to ensure sustainability and reduce vulnerability.

The writer is an agronomist in the United Kingdom. He can be reached at pounrun@gmail.com