The Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) has become practically non-functional in FY2025–26, as no research project was included for it in the new Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).
Despite government claims of prioritizing agriculture, no research work is now active at the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), PARC’s main arm. Only one project—potato seed production with South Korea’s support—will continue during the year.
According to sources, the government suspended two ongoing projects, including one focused on enhancing pulse production and another to upgrade a mountain research center in Gilgit-Baltistan. Meanwhile, five new schemes were added to the PSDP under the Ministry of National Food Security—but none involved PARC.
One of the approved projects includes the establishment of an Agriculture Research Institute in Sheikhupura, the constituency of Food Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain. The five-year project has been allocated Rs38 billion, raising concerns about political favoritism.
PARC had proposed 15 projects worth Rs24 billion, out of which 7 were shortlisted by the ministry but later dropped. An Rs10 billion endowment fund for agri-research was also rejected. Officials cited IMF-related financial restrictions that slashed the ministry’s development budget from Rs24 billion to Rs4.7 billion, severely impacting research and innovation.