Subject:Record Notes of Meeting of the Association of Former PARC Scientists (AFPS) Held on 15-11-2012

Meeting of the Association of Former PARC Scientists (AFPS) was held at PARC Headquarters on 15thNovember 2012 at 1030 hours. List of participants is attached as Annex-A. Following discussion and decisions were taken.

  1. Dr. Amir Muhammed, started the proceedings of the meeting and extended Eid Greetings to all participants. After conveying the Eid Greetings he extended message of congratulations to Dr. Iftikhar Ahmad for taking over as a regular Chairman of PARC. He was delighted that PARC has got a regular Chairman after a couple of years. He and all members of AFPS also wished Dr. Iftikhar Ahmad a very successful tenure and assured their full support.
  2. Dr. Akhtar Beg, presented his views and comments on the soybean project that he and the Coordinator (Oilseed) NARC Dr. Amjad presented during the meeting. Dr. Amir Muhammed and all participants were of the view that soybean cultivation in Pakistan does not need any more trials/demonstration to prove that it is successful or not. They were of the view that in similar environment in India, soybean cultivation has been a success story, so the project on soybean should emphasize on its adoption. The adoption rate will depend upon how we present the available net economic analysis of this crop to farmers.
  3. After through deliberation on the soybean cultivation project, Dr. Amir Muhammed left it to the Chairman PARC to get the project endorsed by a proper forum (ALP Project Evaluation Committee) and after receiving the official comments PARC should proceed further for the implementation. Dr. Amir Muhammed added that he will also extend his support if agricultural credit is needed by the farmers to facilitate adoption of soybean as an important crop, through ZTBI, in his capacity as Director of ZTBL Board.
  4. Dr. Amir Muhammed and Dr. Iftikhar Ahmad were of the view that zero tillage technology in Pakistan was introduced about 2-3 decades ago but the same is not wide-spread as one would like to see. Chairman PARC offered that in the next meeting he will ask the SSD of PARC to present the economic analysis and its adoption status in the rice-wheat areas of Pakistan.
  5. While debating on the other matters concerning AFPS, Ch. Zafar-ud-Din showed his serious concern as to why pension funds were being used for paying salaries. He was of the view that this aspect should be investigated and in future such misutilization of pension / G.P. Fund should be strictly forbidden.Other AFPS members also sought Chairman PARC’s views that why genuine dues are not being paid to pensioners. Chairman PARC briefed all the participants on the financial difficulties of PARC and promised that all dues and increased pension shall be paid as soon as funds are released by GoP.
  6. While discussing the criteria for Emeritus scientists, Dr. Amir Muhammed and Dr. Iftikhar Ahmad requested Dr. Muhammad Afzal and Dr. Rashid Ahmad to prepare fresh criteria for appointment ofEmeritus Scientist of PARC. It was suggested that experiences of PAEC and that of agriculture universities may also be taken into account while establishing the Emeritus Scientists’ criteria.
  7. Dr. Amir Muhammed suggested that the PARC and NARC libraries should be up-graded and the same should be linked with the international organizations for wider exchange of information on agriculture R&D. He strongly recommended that literature from all these apex research organizations of SAARC countries, especially India should be acquired by the PARC and sent to major provincial institutes to keep abreast of the developments in these countries.
  8. Chairman PARC offered that he will share a presentation on Knowledge Management with the members of AFPS in the next AFPS’s meeting. This presentation was made by Chairman, PARC to all PARC/NARC Scientists on 15-11-2012 at NARC Auditorium.

2. The meeting ended with a vote of thanks to the Chair and with a request to hold the next meeting at PARC Headquarters.

(Syed Ghazanfar Abbas)

Focal Person - AFPS

All Concerned

CC:i)PS to Chairman

ii)DG, NARC

iii)Secretary, PARC

iv)Member (Social Sciences)