Parliamentary panel endorses Rs 750m initiative as PARC and SALU sign five-year MoU
By Imtiaz Hussain
SUKKUR: A parliamentary sub-committee has endorsed a major initiative to enhance the Date Palm Research Institute in Khairpur, coinciding with the signing of a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) and Shah Abdul Latif University (SALU).
The MoU formalizes a strategic partnership to modernize the institute, upgrade laboratories, establish model farms on 400–600 acres, and develop elite date palm varieties with advanced production and post-harvest technologies. The project, costing an estimated Rs. 750 million, aims to position Khairpur as an international hub for dates and support farmers with climate-resilient cultivation methods.
Convener of the parliamentary sub-committee, Syed Javed Ali Shah Jillani, emphasized that the initiative will enhance crop production, safeguard livelihoods, and create a complete value chain in the date palm sector. Committee members and stakeholders, including farmers and the Khairpur Chamber of Commerce, highlighted the region’s annual production of 750,000 tonnes of dates and stressed the need for improved water storage and cultivation techniques.
The MoU also includes student and faculty exchanges, joint research projects, and funding support through the Public Sector Development Program and other sources. Officials from SALU, PARC, and Sindh Agriculture Research, along with local farmers, participated in the signing ceremony and later visited the institute, where they took part in a symbolic tree-planting activity to mark environmental sustainability.
SALU Vice Chancellor Dr. Yousuf Khushk called the agreement “great news for the new year,” while PARC Chairman Dr. Syed Murtaza Hassan Andrabi described it as the first step toward revitalizing the sector.
