Pakistan Launches Advanced Speed Breeding Facilities to Boost Crop Security

Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain inaugurated groundbreaking Speed Breeding facilities for wheat and pulses, along with Pakistan’s first Intelligent IoT-Based Smart Glasshouse at the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) in Islamabad. This milestone event, hailed as the beginning of a new era in agricultural research, aims to revolutionize crop improvement through accelerated breeding techniques and smart technologies. The facilities, funded under PSDP projects, will significantly shorten breeding cycles, enhance genetic gains, and bolster food and nutritional security amid climate challenges. Chairman PARC Dr. Syed Murtaza Hassan Andrabi played a pivotal role in conceptualizing and operationalizing these initiatives.

Speed Breeding Revolution for Key Crops The wheat facility at the Crop Sciences Institute enables 5-6 generations per year by using extended photoperiods (up to 22 hours), LED lighting, and precise environmental controls—reducing the typical 14-year varietal development timeline by half. Over 3,000 new wheat lines are already in yield trials, while the pulses facility (first of its kind) targets chickpea, lentil, mung bean, and mash, achieving 4-6 generations annually to address low productivity and climate vulnerabilities.

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Smart Glasshouse: Precision Meets Innovation Spanning 2,640 square feet at NIGAB, the IoT-based smart glasshouse features fully automated sensors, AI-driven controls, and real-time data analytics for genome-assisted breeding, stress biology, and phenotyping. It supports heat stress screening, generation advancement, aquaponics, and gene-edited plant acclimatization—positioning NARC as a hub for climate-smart, resource-efficient agriculture