ISLAMABAD: As Pakistan’s population continues to grow, the demand for food also increases. In agriculture (agriculture technologies, government farm policies, modern crop varieties, and research efforts), the majority of concerns are focused on single crop production. With time, the farmers are trying to adopt new methods to enhance the crop output rather than sticking to monoculture farming. Intercropping is an important agronomic strategy that involves growing two or more crops on the same piece of land.
Talking to WealthPK, Dr Danish Ibrar, Senior Scientific Officer at the National Agriculture Research Centre said, “Soybean is considered a miracle crop because of its high protein content, edible oil, essential amino acids, minerals and vitamins.”
“In Pakistan, the areas where irrigated agriculture is practiced and enough sunlight is available, intercropping can be an economically viable option for the small growers with respect to sustainability and productivity,” he said.
“In soybean roots a bacteria called rhizobium is present; this bacterium is fixed by the atmospheric nitrogen in the form of nitrate because a plant can’t use the atmospheric nitrogen directly. It is the quality of soybean plant that at whatever land we cultivate it, its fertility increases according to the nitrogen level,” he added
“When we intercrop any other crop, such as maize with soybean, that crop (maize) will require nitrogen and its nitrogen requirements will be met by soybean,” Dr Danish said
He said Pakistan’s maize-soybean strip intercropping demonstration area had reached over 400 acres this autumn, nearly 2.67 times that of last autumn.
“As Pakistan is facing scarcity of oil, there is a wide gap between domestic production and requirement. There is an urgent need to develop such a type of pattern which facilitates intercropping. In the intercropping system, several species are grown simultaneously between one another. It is beneficial for the farmers, as it provides sustainable yields,” Dr Danish said
“Due to the small amount of soy produced locally, soy meal and soy oil imports are now required to meet the nation’s needs. Its cultivation remains limited to a low acreage and shows a declining trend, as efforts are not made for its promotion,” Dr Danish added.
“It is a multipurpose crop that is not only grown for its edible oil and nutrients-rich fodder, but it also significantly contributes to poultry feed and industrial raw material (paints, cooking, inks, biofuels, textiles, and gums). To meet these needs, Pakistan imports soybean,” he added.
“The main problem Pakistan is facing in soybean cultivation is that it has not developed any good varieties, due to which a limited quantity soybean is grown here,” he said.
The government should make efforts to produce local varieties or breeds so that we have enough soybean for our domestic use. This will also contribute towards decreasing our import bill.
