Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain on Friday inaugurated speed breeding facilities for wheat and pulses at the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad, a move aimed at accelerating crop improvement and addressing food security challenges, according to an official statement.

The speed breeding technology enables crops to be grown under tightly controlled environmental conditions, significantly shortening breeding cycles. By extending photoperiods to up to 22 hours using specialised LED lighting and maintaining optimal temperature and humidity, wheat can complete its life cycle in six to eight weeks. This allows five to six generations to be produced in a single year, reducing the conventional varietal development timeline of around 14 years by nearly half.

The wheat speed breeding facility has been established at NARC’s Crop Sciences Institute under the PSDP-funded Wheat Productivity Enhancement Project. Equipped with controlled glasshouse chambers, LED grow lighting systems and environmental controls, the facility has already developed more than 3,000 new wheat lines, which are currently undergoing field yield trials. It has also been used to train scientists, breeders and students, with protocols being adapted for other crops.

Pakistan’s first dedicated pulses speed breeding facility was also inaugurated under the PSDP Pulses Project. Pulses are a major source of affordable protein and contribute to soil health through biological nitrogen fixation, but productivity gains have remained limited due to long breeding cycles and increasing climate and disease risks. The new facility enables four to six generations per year in crops such as chickpea, lentil, mung bean and mash through controlled growth chambers and adjustable lighting. According to the statement, work is under way on advanced chickpea breeding lines and multiple segregating generations, with improved phenotyping under uniform conditions.

Chairman Pakistan Agricultural Research Council Dr Syed Murtaza Hassan Andrabi said the adoption of advanced breeding technologies was essential for achieving faster genetic gains and improving crop resilience. He said the facilities reflected efforts to modernise agricultural research and strengthen collaboration with national and international institutions.

Hussain also inaugurated an Intelligent IoT-Based Smart Glasshouse at NIGAB. Spread over 2,640 square feet, the facility integrates IoT sensors, artificial intelligence, programmable control systems, and data analytics to support genome-assisted breeding, stress biology research and advanced phenotyping. It is currently being used for heat stress screening, rapid advancement of wheat generations, aquaponics-based cultivation and the acclimatisation of gene-edited plants.

Speaking at the occasion, Hussain remarked that the Intelligent Smart Glasshouse represents a future-ready national asset that bridges genomics, digital agriculture, and sustainable food production.

He appreciated the efforts of scientists and researchers involved in developing these facilities and reaffirmed the government’s support for scaling such initiatives, strengthening collaboration with national and international research organisations, and fostering public–private partnerships for sustainable varietal development.