Press Release, November 21, 2012

American and Pakistani Scientists Increase Pakistan's Wheat Productivity

Islamabad, November 21, 2012 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is helping farmers increase productivity and improving food security in Pakistan by introducing disease-resistant varieties of wheat. USDA's Wheat Productivity Enhancement Project (WPEP) has introduced 60 advanced wheat varieties in Pakistan in the first of 115 wheat trials scheduled this year at the National Agricultural Research Council (NARC) and other locations throughout Pakistan.

USDA scientists, together with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), helped researchers at the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) establish the annual National Uniform Wheat Yield Trial (NUWYT) at the National Agricultural Research Center (NARC) in Islamabad. USDA helped identify and multiply a variety of wheat called, "NARC 2011," which can resist wheat rust. After NUWYT tests proved the variety was well-suited for the environment in Pakistan, it was released to and is now being used by farmers.