AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center has a long history of collaboration with Pakistan. For example, researchers from the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) participated in the Center’s South Asian Vegetable Research Network (SAVERNET) from 1990 to 2000. This research group was instrumental in developing and disseminating improved vegetable lines–especially mungbean–across South Asia to diversify crop rotations, enrich soils, and improve diets.
AVRDC and PARC: Signing the MoU
On 7 May 2014, this long-standing relationship was re-invigorated when AVRDC and PARC signed a Memorandum of Understanding to guide future research and development activities. Both institutions share a common goal: to accelerate R&D on vegetable crops and to promote safe, sustainable vegetable-based farming systems in Pakistan. Among other benefits, the agreement will foster the development of joint research proposals, facilitate germplasm exchange, and provide opportunities for Pakistani scientists to undertake training at AVRDC.
AVRDC opened a new Pakistan Office in Islamabad on 15 May 2014 in the Plant Genetic Resources Institute (PGRI) of the National Agriculture Research Centre (NARC) to accommodate the Center’s current activities in the country funded through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Agricultural Innovations Program. Iftikhar Ahmad, PARC Chairman; M. Azeem Khan, NARC Director General; Shahid Masood and Nadeem Amjad of PARC; Muhammad Imtiaz, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT); Abdul Majid, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA); Abdul Rehman, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI); Muhammad Islam, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI); and Mansab Ali, AVRDC Project Manager, inaugurated the office with a modest ceremony and a new sign.
