Rahim Yar Khan(29th March) – Jahangir Khan Tareen visited the first-of-its-kind JDW Sugarcane Breeding & Research Centre in Thatha and reviewed ongoing breeding activities and observed the successful induction of sugarcane flowering through controlled conditions and the development of new high-performing varieties.
Speaking on the occasion, Jahangir Khan Tareen highlighted the need to address stagnation in Pakistan’s agriculture. He noted that many countries rely on importing sugarcane varieties instead of developing their own, primarily due to the lack of suitable environmental conditions required for breeding.
He said that countries like Australia achieved success in modern agriculture by creating controlled environments to support research and innovation.
“I visited Australia to observe advanced sugarcane breeding systems, where specialized chambers are established to control temperature and humidity to induce flowering.”
“Developing new sugarcane varieties through breeding is directly linked to flowering, and our local climate is not naturally conducive to this process.” he said.
“We hired international agricultural expert, Dr. Nils Berding as a consultant, who came to Pakistan, trained our breeders, and worked closely with our team to establish the flowering and breeding station in Thatta on similar lines,” he added.
He emphasized that the initiative has now entered a sustainable phase. “After the initial support from Australian experts, our local breeders are now independently managing and advancing this entire programme,” he noted.
Highlighting key results, Jahangir Khan Tareen said, “One of the major outcomes is the variety J16-639, developed through the 2016 breeding cycle. Field results show that this variety has delivered yields exceeding 1,100 maunds per acre, with sugar recovery of up to 11.5 percent.”
“In Pakistan, farmers’ income depends on the weight of sugarcane, while mills depend on recovery. This variety improves both, making it beneficial for growers as well as the industry,” he added.
“These new varieties are emerging from the JDW flowering and breeding centre in Thatta, representing the outcome of nearly 11 years of continuous research and development,” Jahangir Khan Tareen said.
“We must bring innovation into agriculture to overcome stagnation, improve farmer profitability, and build a stronger agricultural economy that benefits both farmers and mills,” he remarked.
Providing technical details, Muhammad Zeeshan Zafar, Sugarcane Scientist at JDW, briefed that the centre has successfully developed new sugarcane varieties through a decade-long structured breeding programme.
“A new variety, J19-1574, has demonstrated sugar recovery exceeding 12 percent, along with strong yield performance. It is currently undergoing different stages of testing and evaluation,” he said, adding that this progress benefits all stakeholders across the value chain.
He further informed that the research programme has now progressed to the next stage, with even higher-performing varieties under evaluation.
Executive Director JDW-Unit 1, Dr. Hassan Iqbal, was also present on the occasion.
