ISLAMABAD (APP) - The Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) would formulate the National Research Agenda (NRA) by mid of this month to intensify coordinated research activities for the development of agriculture sector of the country. The PARC would organize inter-provincial coordination committee meeting on 17-18 February to develop comprehensive agenda, sources told APP. Scientists and concerned authorities from all the provincial and federal institutions working for agriculture development have been invited in the meeting to help devise the strategy, they added. Meanwhile, talking to APP, Chairman PARC, Dr. Muhammad Afzal said that the development of National Research Agenda would help promote agriculture research in a broader perspective and check duplications of research projects adding the agenda would also support strengthen collaboration and cooperation among various research institutions. Dr. Afzal termed the investment in the agriculture research as key element to ensure food security through increasing agriculture yield to cater the increasing number of population in the county. Food security in the country depends on how much the government spends on the agriculture research, he added. He was of the view that owing to various factors, Pakistan has no option but to increase per acre yield adding that boosting agriculture production was possible only through research and utilization of modern technologies. Path to our agriculture progress is availability of new technology and introduction of technology to the farmers, he said adding that the purpose of NRA is to work seriously for this objective. He said that PARC was simultaneously focussing on developing new technologies and introducing these technologies to the farmers in the field for better outputs. He said that over years, the PARC has succeed in enhancing the overall crop production in the country. Citing the example of wheat production, he said that the yield of wheat crop has been enhanced from just 4 million tons in early sixties to 23 million tons in 2009. He said that there was a lot of talent as well as capacity to help boost agriculture but the council needed long term investments to carry forward the research projects. Dr.Afzal said that there was shortage of funds to carry forward research projects, however, maintained that we have no option but to spend on research if we are serious about ensuring food security in the country. He was of the view that investment in research would not produce results overnight rather it would have long-term effects adding that PARC would need funds for its research project to make the future of agriculture better.