ISLAMABAD, Sep 11: The Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), the apex body for research in agriculture was finally able to get its new full-time chairman — a post which remained filled on ad-hoc basis, since August 2011.

The new chairman of PARC is Dr Iftikhar Ahmad who has been appointed for two years effective September 10, by the prime minister.

Establishment Division has issued a notification on the appointment of Dr Iftikhar Ahmad.

Before becoming acting chairman of PARC, Dr Iftikhar was Director-General of National Agricultural Research Centre in Islamabad.  From August 2011, he remained acting chairman of PARC till his retirement on March this year.

After his retirement, Dr Iftikhar joined the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations as senior adviser on programme development.

When contacted, Dr Iftikhar told Dawn that he eagerly looked forward to assuming the new responsibility as full-time chairman of PARC to play his role in the agricultural research.

He has played a key role in the development of disease resistant, high yielding wheat varieties in the country through a tripartite arrangement between the National Breeders, National Coordinated Wheat Programme and Crop Diseases Research Programme. Similarly as leader of the Soil-Health Programme in the rice-wheat system initiative, Dr Ahamd is playing a very crucial role in the adoption of resource conservation technologies in the country.