Saturday, December 12, 2009

Dr.Pirzada earns a Certificate in Organic Production and Exports

Dr.Wajid Pirzada completes a month long course in Organic Production & Exoprt,offered by the United Nations Environmental Program(UNEP).The course was offered in November 2009 and number of participants across the world participated in the course,and those successful also one international certificate.

Dr.Pirzada delivers a talk at National Management College lahore

On invitation from The National Management College(NMC),previous Pakistan Administrative College & NIPA,Lahore delivered a tlak on Agricultural Policy & Food Security dialogue arranged for the 91st National Management Course on 11th December 2009.
He discussed at lenght the impact of price surge of 2007-8 on Pakistan,and how price hike experience could inform Pakistan's national policy on food security.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

World Food Day 2009

While talking in PTV(Pakistan Television) News Date Line program on 16th October 2009,Dr.Pirzada said that 1.02 billion pepole- 1/6th of mankind suffer from hunger & manutrition today.Majority of the hungry people are in Asia and Pacific which hosts one half of humanity and 2/3rd of hungry people.

About 907 million hungry people live in the developing countries, and number of hungry people have increased from 35 to 45 million post global food crises of 2007-08 alone in Pakistan. The global l economic slow down, climate change,crop failures and biofuels development have affected food avaiability.

He underlined that food security in Pakistan inter alia is threatened by climate change induced decline in crop yield,as yields in Asia may decline by 21 percent and in Pakistan up to 6 percent.With mounting population pressure,potential risk of decline in food out put can only be averted with political will to make rural Pakistan a hub of economic activities by investing in agricultural R&D,climate change adaptation & mitigation, and transforming small farm business in to SMEs and then mainsteaming them as Agribusiness clusters,Dr.Pirzada opined.

World Animal Day 2009

on 4th October hosting a talk in the current affais session of the Pakistan televisionon World Animal Day Dr.Pirzada said that human beings and animals are tenents-in- commomn on this planet.He underlined the role animal world plays towards ecobalance,biodiversity,livelihood, food security, rural economics, human pleasure & sustenance and as companions.

He talked about the challenges like animal welfare,conservation of species at the verge of extinction, climate change related adaptation & mitigation, risks of transboundry diseases etc and urged a collective action to protect,develpoe and help sustain animal life.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

On 9/26/09, KHALID S wrote:

On 9/26/09, KHALID S <pakissan2002@yahoo.com> wrote:

Dr. Syed Wajid Pirzada, a renowned research scholar and a veteran Vet has sought premature retirement from PARC. Dr. Syed Wajid Pirzada, a renowned research scholar and a veteran Vet has sought premature retirement from Pakistan Agricultural Research Council from 13th September 2009,after an accomplished and distinguished career.Dr.Pirzada's, an alumnus of UVAS(1976), last assignment was Chief World Trade Organization(WTO)at MINFAL.He has 140 publications including books to his credit and has presented his work at international fora in 25 countries.He was founder Registrar of the Pakistan Veternary Medical Council and author of the UVAS project(PC-1).Prior to his retirement Dr.Pirzada represented Pakistan in 27th International Conference of Agricultural Economists (IAAE) in Beijing this year where he presented his paper,and later in regional consultation on Climate change in Kathmandu Nepal,in a run up to Copenhagen climate moot later this year.Dr.Pirzada's work has been carried by the World Bank,United Nations' system and Action Aid international.He also worked as International Team Leader for Action Aid International's 5- country project.At present Dr.Pirzada is a visting Faculty at Fatima Jinnah Women University,where he teaches economics of protection & support.Dr.Pirzada has such a diversed and accomplished career but is a humble yet a proud veterinarian.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Climate Change,Trade and Food Security

Dr.Pirzada presented his paper on Climate Change & Food Security: adaptation & Mitigation in South Asian Consultation on Climate Change,Trade and Food Security(Kathmandu,Nepal:9-11 September,2009),organised by South Asia Watch on Trade,Economics & Environment(SAWTEE) http://www.sawtee.org/

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Georges Giraud and Syed Wajid H. Pirzada(2009) Where is Basmati rice coming from?-A global trade related review,27th International Conference of Inter

Dr.Pirzada presented a paper on Climate Change, Agriculture & Food Security:Adaptation & Mitigation Issues, at South Asian Consultation on Climate Change,Trade & Food Security, organised by the South Asia Watch on Trade Economics & Environment(SAWTEE) Nepal(9-11 September,2009) in run up to UNFCC Copenhagen.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Paper presented in 27th International Conference of International Association of Agricultural Economists(IAAE),Beijing,China(16-21 August ,2009)

Where is Basmati rice coming from? A global trade–related overview





Authors
Prof. Georges GIRAUD, Agro food marketing, Enita Clermont, France, giraud@enitac.fr
Dr. Syed Wajid H. Pirzada, Chief Scientist, Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, wto_chief@yahoo.com







Contributed Paper prepared for presentation at the International Association of Agricultural Economists Conference, Beijing, China, August 16-22, 2009







Copyright 2009 by G. Giraud and S.W. H. Pirzada. All rights reserved. Readers may make verbatim copies of this document for non-commercial purposes by any means, provided that this copyright notice appears on all such copies.

Where is Basmati rice coming from? A global trade–related overview

Abstract
Rice contributes on 20% towards human calorie intake of the world population and 30% of Asian population. Worldwide paddy rice crop was 668 million tonnes in 2008, while rice trade during the year was 30 million tonnes. Trade represents 7% of overall rice cropping. Basmati rice export counts for high value and low volume. Although Basmati crop is primarily from two countries, specific data related to Basmati export are scarce. Basmati trade constituted 8.3% of rice world trade during 2008, with a record of 2.45 million tonnes. Recent volatility of prices affects rice trade market, but less Basmati price that is still the highest on world rice market. This paper depicts the present situation of Basmati trade and its business prospects as a tradable commodity by analysing recent data. Basmati is now a trade-oriented commodity and its price premium attracts number of stakeholders, even when they are far from the original area of cropping. Hence a clarification of areas sown and seeds lines variety might enhance authenticity of Basmati and would allow to improve reliability of Basmati supply chain actors as well. This will act in favour of a more sustainable market for Basmati as a Geographical Indication.
Keywords
Basmati rice, World trade, Origin
JEL : Q13, Q17
Where is Basmati rice coming from? A global trade–related overview
Interest and importance
Rice is staple food for at least 62.8% of planet inhabitants and it contributes on an average 20% of apparent caloric intake of the world population and 30 % of population in Asia. This contribution varies from 29.5% for China to 72.0% for Bangladesh (Calpe and Prakash, 2007). Worldwide paddy rice crop is foreseen to be 667.7 million tonnes by FAO in 2008. Rice global trade is usually low and counts for 7% of worldwide paddy crop (Calpe, 2005). Rice global trade is estimated, on a milled basis, at 29.6 million tonnes by USDA and 30.2 million tonnes by FAO for 2008 (Childs, 2007; FAO, 2008). While rice trade is low, varying around 6% of overall rice cropping, Basmati rice export counts for high value and low volume. However, specific data related to Basmati export are scarce, although it comes primarily from only two countries: India and Pakistan (Chaudary et al., 2003). Basmati trade increased from 5.2% to 8.3% of all rice world trade from 2003 to 2008, with a record of 2.45 million tonnes on milled basis. Recent increase and fall of agricultural commodities’ prices affects rice trade market, but Basmati price did not drop after spring 2008 increase and is still the highest on world rice market (FAO, 2008). Currently, Basmati rice accounts for around 38% of the dry rice market oriented towards direct food consumption, while the main market for coarse rice varieties is its use, through transformation process, in the food & beverage and the pharmaceutical industries.
Basmati is premium long grain rice. Its high value comes from its characteristic aroma in both the raw and cooked state, and the grain is a distinctive shape, which on cooking elongates to almost double its length whilst its width remains the same. In addition to having unique eating qualities, Basmati rice is reported to be a good source of slow releasing carbohydrates (i.e. it has a low glycæmic index compared with other rice). Basmati rice is generally identified by three main factors: appearance, aroma and taste. Basmati rice is characterised by superfine grain, pleasant aroma, soft texture and extreme grain elongation with least breadth-wise swelling on cooking. The Basmati rice has traditionally been grown in the north and north-western part of the Indian sub-continent for centuries. Basmati grows better and produces the best quality grains under warm, humid, valley-like conditions.
Material and method
This paper intends to depict the present situation of Basmati trade and its business prospects by presenting recent original data available of February 2009 sourced from several databanks and contrasting it with previous analyses published earlier on.
Data is sourced primarily from the directorate Trade and Markets from FAO, USDA in USA, DG Agriculture in EU, ministry of Commerce, and to some extent from Ministry of Agriculture, in Pakistan and India. Due to great variety of rice formats, the comparison of price/weight ratio is meaningless when data on paddy, brown, husked, milled, parboiled and broken rice are available. Due to the overall harvesting, processing and packaging stages along the supply chain, rice’s loss in weight varies from 10% to 37% according to variety, cropping area and kind of machinery (Bhattacharjee et al., 2002).
Calendar year for recording rice campaign is from April to March in India, July to June in Pakistan, September to August in European Union and August to July in USA. For EU, import rice data are available in tons for husked Basmati, for USA they are in metric tons milled basis and prices are in USD on rough rice basis.
In Pakistan, export’s breakdown of Basmati vs other rice is shown in value and volume, while data of production are available in volume and acreage at district level by rice variety. In India, data are sparsely available, mainly displayed in value when difference between Basmati and non-Basmati is done. Data on production and acreage are available at state level without any detail on variety.
Finally, data on Basmati rice are mainly provided by trade sources, while agricultural ministries were supposed to have such database. Overall Basmati production, for both export and domestic consumption, is still unknown as crop data from India are not available. Large variability in rice varieties is not helpful in order to get an accurate monitoring of Basmati production. The question is how far a hybrid can be crossbred to be still qualified as belonging to the Basmati family due to several crossbreeding? What is the significant lineage from pure lines for Basmati hybrids: 70%, 50%, 10%, 5%, or 1%? No scientific evidence is published on this, whereas some trade stakeholders are likely to be prone to label as Basmati any kind of hybrid with at least one remote lineage with Basmati (Independent Bangladesh, 2008). Growers and relevant stakeholders, from and close to the region of origin, are more rooted to traditional pure lines.
Results
Basmati rice cropping
The delimitation of ancient Punjab was rather clear before the partition done in 1947 by the Authorities of the British Empire for the independence of India and Pakistan. Old Punjab is likely to include present western Punjab in Pakistan, eastern Punjab and Haryana in India. Most districts of these regions are reported to be the Basmati belt. All these regions are located in Himalayan foothills and constitute the home of Basmati, with peculiar pædo-climatic conditions and specific knowledge on traditional cropping of Basmati rice (Giraud, 2008). For example, cropping in districts Sialkot, Sheikupura, Gujranwala in Pakistan and Kurukshetra, Amritsar in India, is known for giving high quality and aroma to Basmati.
In western Punjab, which represents 91.2% of all Pakistan Basmati crops, Basmati acreage increased by 39.7% in ten years, yield increased by 32.8%. However, Basmati yield is still low with 1721 kg/ha in 2006 in western Punjab, compared to 2116 kg/ha for all rice produced in Pakistan, and 3858 kg/ha in eastern Punjab and 3051 kg/ha in Haryana, which are the major Basmati providing regions in India. As cropping area is stabilized into the studied countries, increase of Basmati production depends on yield improvement, substitution of Basmati instead of coarse rice crops, and improvement in milling process to a minor extent. Basmati represented 61.6% of rice acreage and 50.3% of production in Pakistan in 2007. According to Mushtaq and Dawson, Basmati rice acreage in Pakistan is not responsive to price shocks but more sensitive to variation in irrigated area (Mushtaq and Dawson, 2002).
While agricultural education towards farmers is still in progress in order to help them to use best practices in rice growing, yield improvement mainly vary according to genetic selection and crossbreeding.



Basmati - related characters according to variety
Variety
Year of release
Yield, T/ha
Tall, cm
Maturity, days
Aroma
Grain length, mm
Basmati 370
1933
2.5
170
120
++
6.76
Basmati Pak
1968
2.0
170
120
+
7.5
Basmati 385
1988
4.0
133
112
+
6.8
Super Basmati
1996
3.2
115
120
+
7.5
Basmati-2000
2001
4.5
135
115
+
7.7
Kashmir Basmati
1977
4.4
160
90
+
6.6
Rachna Basmati
1999
4.2
135
95
+
6.8
Shaheen Basmati
2000
4.5
134
120
+
7.2
Haryana Basmati

4.50
116
143
-
6.74
Kasturi Basmati
1989
4.0
102
125
-
6.94
Pusa 1
1989
4.50
90
135
-
6.82
Basmati - related characters according to variety
Variety
Year of release
Yield, T/ha
Tall, cm
Maturity, days
Aroma
Grain length, mm
Basmati 370
1933
2.5
170
120
++
6.76
Basmati Pak
1968
2.0
170
120
+
7.5
Basmati 385
1988
4.0
133
112
+
6.8
Super Basmati
1996
3.2
115
120
+
7.5
Basmati-2000
2001
4.5
135
115
+
7.7
Kashmir Basmati
1977
4.4
160
90
+
6.6
Rachna Basmati
1999
4.2
135
95
+
6.8
Shaheen Basmati
2000
4.5
134
120
+
7.2
Haryana Basmati

4.50
116
143
-
6.74
Kasturi Basmati
1989
4.0
102
125
-
6.94
Pusa 1
1989
4.50
90
135
-
6.82
Sources: Bashir, 2007 ; Bhattacharjee, 2002
Researchers are working hard in order to help at improving Basmati yields and spreading crop areas (Singh et al., 2006; Bashir et al., 2007; Abedullah, 2007). However, end-use characteristics are related to the growing place. The same seeds do not provide the same final traits according to variation in planting location. Hence the trade-off is between yield improvement and pure lineage in Basmati parentage for new varieties.
Rice, a sensitive and special foodstuff
Rice is recognized as a sensitive and special product by some countries (Calpe and Prakash, 2007). It means that Governments are able to control, and sometimes stop, the rice trade throughout specific taxes, governmental distribution agencies and price regulation. This exception regime is said to be leading to a more safe food security system providing rice at a low price for local population in developing countries. Despite its second position as rice exporter, Vietnam banned commercial exporters from making sales for several months in 2008 (Childs, 2008). Egypt, India and Bangladesh did the same. Basmati was not included in this ban period. According to FAO, the share of export represents 48.0% of overall 2008 production for Thailand, the first rice exporter, 54.0% for Pakistan, 55.2% for USA, 18.8% for Viet Nam, 2.4% for India and 1.2% for China (FAO, 2008). Although related to the diverse varieties’ fitting with consumers’ preferences, these percentages indicate various orientations towards trade market.
This process does not affect directly Basmati market (Childs and Kiawu, 2009). However, the authorities from India and Pakistan pay attention to rice availability for their own inhabitants. In 2008, India applied a minimum export price (MEP) of USD 1200 per ton, plus a cess of USD 180 on Basmati rice exports (FAO, 2009). Pakistan applied a MEP of USD 1300 per ton for Basmati rice, and USD 1500 for super Basmati, from January to August.
Major importers
Trade in coarse rice is spread in several countries, mainly located in Asia, with five first importers making 25% of overall rice trade in 2007. Basmati trade is rather concentrated. In 2007, the first five clients of India have a share of 84.9% and those of Pakistan 68.5% of respective Basmati export (India: 616.7 million USD; Pakistan: 556 million USD). India mainly exports Basmati to Saudi Arabia, European Union, Kuwait, Union of Arab Emirates and USA, whereas Pakistan does the same with Union of Arab Emirates, Iran, Oman, European Union and Yemen.

Basmati export
Quantity 1000 tons
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
India
708.8
771.5
1 163.0
1 166.6
1 045.7
1 183.4
Pakistan
716.7
816.3
814.9
839.0
907.9
1 271.4
Value million USD






India
415.8
433.7
628.5
687.3
616.7
1 079.1
Pakistan
267.7
308.4
439.2
479.6
556.3
1 068.9
Source: authors from Databanks
Basmati trade is also concentrated by demand side. The five first importers made 44.5% of overall market in 2007. Main importers are almost all located in the Middle East, although European Union is the third importer.
Source: authors from Databanks
Of minor, but noticeable interest is that little exports to some countries are not recorded as import by the relevant country. For instance, India and Pakistan declare to export Basmati to Denmark in 2007-08, while no import of Basmati is recorded in Denmark, from India neither Pakistan, since several years. This may be explained by the location of a trader(s) in Denmark, may be in a free port, which is shipping this rice to some milling company not located in the same country. Another possibility is the general proneness to overestimate the export and underestimate the import.
Basmati price evolution
Basmati rice attains by far, a higher price than non-Basmati rice in both wholesale and retail markets. Basmati particularly attracts highest price on world export market. According to Child, after nearly tripling to record highs from November 2007 to May 2008, global trading prices have dropped sharply (Child, 2008). Price quotes for Thailand’s high-quality long-grain milled rice, a benchmark for global trading prices, have declined more than 40% since May. Prices for U.S. long-grain milled rice, which more than doubled from November 2007 to late April 2008, have declined more than 30%.
Source: FAO
By comparison, price of Basmati is the highest among rice from September 2007 to January 2009, but not during the peak of May 2008, with 1100 USD /T. Its evolution is more stable: after an increase of 69.2% from September 2007 to March 2008, no drop was shown from May to January 2009 (FAO, 2009). Factors acting on Basmati price seem to be related to stable increase of demand from major importers and harvest variation, rather than prices’ volatility on a rising market.
The price premium of Basmati attracts lot of players and increases competition between domestic and trade markets. Hence frequent market shortages may probably also foster fraudulent blending. The authentication of Basmati rice is an important topic since it attracts highest price on trade market. Hence, rice trade counts several players, sensitive to the market pressure thus increasingly the demand of Basmati rice, while the production does not always follow this trend.
Discussion
Authentication and traceability
Authentication methods of rice, based on DNA tests, are implemented and validated since long time (Bligh et al., 1999). A survey using DNA test was carried out in 2003 by the British Food Standards Agency in order to measure the sincerity of labelling Basmati on rice packages sold in UK (Burns et al., 2004). Approximately one-third of the 363 samples, collected from a range of retail outlets and catering suppliers, were labelled as from India, one-third from Pakistan, and the final one third were not labelled with the country of origin. A small number of samples were labelled as mixed origin.
All samples claimed to be Basmati rice as written on their labelling. While 196 (54%) samples were found to contain only Basmati rice, non-Basmati rice was detected in 167 (46%). In around 24% of these samples, the non-Basmati rice content was relatively small i.e. less than 10% (and below the limit of measurement in 10% of these samples). However 63 (17%) samples had non-Basmati rice content, greater than 20%. Of great concern were the 31 (9%) samples that were found to have non-Basmati rice content greater than 60%.
On a market where demand exceeds by far supply, stakeholders are sometimes tempted to act in borderline manner (World Trade Review, 2008). Hence, the presence of “semi-basmati” and “product uncertainties” is noticed by literature based on field studies (Goel and Bhaskaran, 2007). Another issue on authentication and traceability of Basmati is the genetic selection and parentage of hybrid lines.
Lineage and parentage
The market pressure, and expected earnings from stakeholders as well, led to improve yields of the most expensive rice. The genetic selection, so far, gave several hybrids that now content small percent of traditional Basmati pure line.
Presently, the different recognized lines of Basmati vary from Pakistan to India. It is questionable when the list of native and indigenous lines of Basmati will be defined according to the GI protection in one hand and trade pressure on another. Basmati 370 was identified in 1933, Super Basmati was developed in 1995 (Bashir et al., 2007). Nowadays, Basmati 2000 & Pusa 1121 are sold as Basmati, albeit not always showing strong links to either Basmati pure lines or Punjab region. Some basmati-related seeds are now released in Nepal, Bangladesh, Texas or even Italy. Basmati sowing trials are noticed in Balochistan in Pakistan, in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka in India. However, agronomic and climatic conditions are very different from Punjab. Hence genetic selection gave adapted hybrids able to resist to water scarcity or salt abundance or very hot temperature or weeds attacks and so on. These hybrids are coming from Basmati lines in a modest extent. Hence the final characters of such hybrid lines are far from genuine traits of pure Basmati lines.
More generally, the long list of Basmati lines may confuse non-skilled stakeholders and consumers as well. At least 60 lines of Basmati rice are released on the world seed market. The list includes the name of the major pure lines and various hybrids as well. Of the largest aromatic germplasm maintained at IRRI, about 86 are described by the name Basmati irrespective of grain dimensions and intensity of aroma: Pakistan (67), India (9), Nepal (7), Bangladesh (2) and Sri Lanka (1). Comparing these with Basmati standards, only 18 qualify as Basmati (Singh et al., 2000). A harmonious combination of minimum kernel dimension, intensity of aroma, texture of cooked rice, high volume expansion during cooking made up by linear kernel elongation with minimum breadth-wise swelling, fluffiness, palatability, easy digestibility and longer shelf life qualify a rice to be Basmati in consumers’ and traders’ view (Singh et al., 2000).
In September 2008, India put Pusa 1121 into the official list of Basmati lines (Gulf Times, 2008). Pusa 1121 is a hybrid released in 2003, which is the world's longest grain, but contains just 5% of traditional Basmati line. This newly bred variety has yield two times more than traditional tall basmati cultivars such as Taraori. It also scores high in terms of aroma, greater elongation upon cooking and less chalky grain content. This event is the most recent of a long list of re-branding hybrid lines into Basmati family in order to provide trade market to the expected quantities of basmati-like rice.
Listing what is Basmati or not at this stage may lead to endless controversy, as complex figure will perpetually come out from crossbreeding developments. It might be worth to consider how to better and clearly define what might be the percent of parentage kept into hybrid in order to make new varieties eligible to qualify as Basmati lineage. Instead of making such trade-off on trade basis, it might be preferable to use the end characteristics that make the segmentation between Basmati and coarse rice: fragrance and cooking qualities. Hence, yield improvement would be a secondary factor, not jeopardizing Basmati authenticity and origin.
Basmati is a trade-oriented commodity that attracts number of stakeholders because of price premium, even when they are located far from Punjab, home of Basmati. Hence a clarification of crop areas and seeds lines variety might enhance authenticity of GI Basmati and would allow at improving reliability of Basmati supply chain actors as well (Chandola, 2006; Marie-Vivien, 2008). This will act in favour of a more sustainable market for Basmati.
Conclusion
The previous observations give suitable orientation for the revision of the export standards from India and Pakistan, and for the updating of importers Code of Practice as well. Clean and fair practices should be promoted within the rice commodity chain in order not to mislead the consumers. The recent move to register Basmati as GI trademark in Pakistan might lead to improved traceability (Mohsin, 2008). Likewise protection of true to type Basmati under national laws will add to transparency in Basmati rice trade. Whereas, the WTO Agreement on TRIPs does not require a member to protect geographical indications unless they are protected in their country of origin (Article 24.9), but once India and Pakistan have passed an appropriate Law, retrospective action becomes possible to prevent firms in other countries marketing rice grown outside the Indian subcontinent as Basmati. However, India and Pakistan still have much to gain from taking prompt legislative measures, because a Geographical Indication system can have retrospective effect (Pirzada, 2001).
According to the trade orientation of Basmati rice, Geographical Indication scheme might fit better if based upon Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), rather than upon Protected Designation of Origin (PDO). The last requires that all cropping, processing and packaging stages must be done into the region of origin, while the first only needs the rooted location of one of these stages. PGI fits well with the actual supply chain organisation prevailing in Basmati industry. Based upon old reputation of product’s high quality and strong independent controls of compliance with code of practices, PGI scheme is compatible with important scale of production and broad marketing. Still under free market regime, Basmati rice trade may take benefits from protection of rice origin in order to avoid end consumers misleading.
Consequently, a split between GI Basmati from Punjab and coarse basmati might be foreseen. GI Basmati from Punjab would come from the region of origin with clear traceability of varieties with strong evidence of parentage with Basmati pure lines. This must be written into the code of practices related to the PGI certification. On another hand, some coarse basmati might take a fringe market share for those importers where local consumers are more price sensitive or under influence of strong branding strategies and less sensitive to aroma or authenticity of rice. To be confirmed, this forecast needs further investigations, especially by using a more complete literature overview and improved reliability of data collected.
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Data base
Commission européenne, 2008. CIRCA library, agriculture, DG Agriculture, November, 20, http://circa.europa.eu/Public/irc/agri/cereals/library?l=/publicsdomain/rice/basmati_weeksxls/_EN_1.0_&a=d
Department of Commerce, 2008. Export-Import Data Bank, India, http://commerce.nic.in/eidb/ecom.asp
Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, 2008. Export statistics and trends, June 2007-July 2008, http://www.tdap.gov.pk/v1/statistics/october08/100908/by_product.xls
Press sources
Gulf Times, November 12, 2008. New move set to boost basmati rice exports.
Independent Bangladesh, March 19, 2008. India practices unfair trading in Basmati exports.The World Trade Review, October 15

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Latest Publications

1.George Giraud and Syed Wajid H.Pirzada(2009):Where is Basmati rice coming from?-A global trade-related overview, presented in the International Association of Agricultural Economists-IAAE Conference,Beijing China(16-22 August,2009)

Green Economy and Climate change

This is the new area Dr.Pirzada has ventured, as a student, especially in the context of Green Economy- Environment-sustainable development -Growth paradigm.
His interest centres on:
  1. Trade and Climate Change
  2. Climate and Biodiversity
  3. Disaster Risk Management(DRM)
  4. Development of early Warning System(s) for disaster -prone areas.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge,Science and Tachnology for Development(IAASTD)

Dr.Pirzada was associated with IASSTD process as Coordinating Lead Author for the CWANA region,sub-global report.He also represented Pakistan in the Inter-Governmental Plenary that approved the Assessment.
The Assessment has now been released by te IAASTD Secretariat and published by the Islanad Press: www.islandpress.org

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

CV: Dr.Pirzada


Dr. Wajid Pirzada [PIRZADA WAJID HUSSAIN SHAH]
Contact: 842, St. 105, Sector III, ACHS (Gulshan-e-ABAD) Adyala Road, Rawalpindi,  Pakistan
    
 Cell : +92 -333-5398625


Area of Interest and Work Experience:

Professional Expertise & Experience:    Development Practitioner, Researcher and Policy Analyst, Food Security Analyst & Livelihood Development Specialist, Advocacy & Mainstreaming Specialist, Evaluation Specialist,  Knowledge Manager & Trainer of Trainers

Work Experience
-  Institutional Development
- Policy & Planning
- Research & Advocacy
- Training of Trainers
- Knowledge Management
- Grass root Development
- Livelihood (agro-livestock) & Rural Development
- Humanitarian assistance, food safety/ veterinary public health
- Food security-climate change, public & agricultural health (SPS)  and international trade in food & agriculture
-Human Rights & Social Protection

 

 

Academic Background:

§  M. Phil (Natural Sciences) from  Quaid-I-Azam University (www.qau.edu.pk) , Islamabad, Pakistan
§   Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) from University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences (www.uvas.edu.pk ), Lahore, Pakistan
§  Postgraduate trainings in strategic planning, food safety/security, international trade & market analysis, intellectual property management

Postgraduate Trainings:
-          Trade In Agriculture-World Trade Institute Bern, Switzerland
-          Intellectual Property Management- Swift Cornell University
-          Specialization in Food Safety & Agricultural Health- World Trade Organization
-          Strategic Planning- GTZ Germany
-           Analyses of Market & Market Reforms [IFPRI-ADB-JU, Dhaka, Bangladesh] March 21-25, 2004
-          Quantitative Methods for Domestic Market Reforms in South Asia,[IFPRI-ADB]-University of Agriculture,   Faisalabad, Pakistan], Islamabad, Pakistan, September20-25,2004- www.ifpri.org
-          Agricultural Health & Food Safety- Cabi International (www.cabi.org)
-          Humanitarian Assistance-HelpAge International (www.helpage.org )
-          Human Safety & Security- UNDSS
-          -Human Safety & Security-redR
Expertise:
  • Years long  experience  as development practitioner, researcher, policy analyst, advocacy & mainstreaming specialist
§  Have served public sector, UN system, INGOs & CSOs including humanitarian organizations
§  Working at present with an INGO, as Senior Management Team, leading Policy Research & Advocacy programs.
§  Demonstrated interest in and  track record of institutional development,  policy analysis,
research, advocacy and training   of trainers (ToT), gender, Age & disability mainstreaming
§  Proven track record of conducting research on policy/development issues, and  generating evidence for informed policy making and advocacy
§  Demonstrated experience of Food Security/Livelihood Analyses.PRA/RRA and impact assessment and DRA related studies, such as vulnerability analysis
§  Well-connected with national, regional and international civil society networks, as partners in development
§  Author of more than 150 publications, including reports done for the World Bank, Oxfam- GB, USAID/FIRMS, Action Aid Pakistan, Grant Thornton Pakistan etc.
§  Have represented Pakistan in many international fora/ negotiations
§  Have participated /presented research work in more than 25 countries at regional/international fora
§  Member of number of professional bodies, advisory boards, steering committees, and technical committees of public sector/CSOs.
§  Proven track record of conducting trainings, as master trainer, for wide range stakeholders including public/private sectors- business & rural communities, farmers and media people in Pakistan.
§  Expert, Ad hoc Panel on Genetic Use Restriction [Terminator]Technology [GURT], United Nation's Convention on Biodiversity [UN-CBD]
Work Experience:

  1. Humanitarian Assistance:

-          UN/World Food Program, as Food Security/Livelihood Analyst -April 2009-June 2011
                                         ( www.wfp.org )
-          HelpAge International, as Senior Manager( Policy Research, Advocacy & Mainstreaming)-August 2011-present
                                       (www.helpage.org )
  1. Management:


Some of the important programmes that I have managed;

  1. Director Research/ Principal Scientist-Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC)- 1983-2005 (www.parc.gov.pk )

 PARC is an apex setting, in the National Agricultural Research System (NARS) of Pakistan. I was associated with PARC as researcher & research manager, working in the areas related to livelihood/rural development, food security & climate change and international trade in food &agriculture. Besides active research, I was involved in research management, including funding, coordination & M&E, and research policy.

     2.  Team Leader:
        i. ADB-assisted development Project, Ministry of Food, Agriculture & livestock (MINFAL)

§  led the Asian Development Bank assisted Livestock Development Project as National Coordinator, working with four provinces.


    ii.   DFID-funded Project, Action Aid International

§  led the project on Impact of Import Surges on developing countries, as 5-country (Nepal, Brazil, Kenya, Ghana & Gambia) Team Leader
     
   iii.    World Trade Organization (WTO) Unit, MINFAL (GOP)

§  as Chief WTO, was involved in evidence-based policy making/negotiations related to WTO food & agriculture related matters, including inter alia tariffs & non-tariff barriers, food safety  & agricultural health (SPS) and Intellectual Property Rights.


§  Promotion of enterprise development  

C: Research & Knowledge Management:


  1. Principal Investigator/ Lead Author:

Have more than 150 publications, including:

i.                    Food Insecurity in Rural Pakistan (SDPI--WFP 2003)
 Led the first ever research study on food insecurity in Pakistan, done jointly by the Sustainable development Policy Institute (SDPI) and the UN/world Food Program
ii.                  Food Insecurity in Urban Pakistan (WFP 2007)
 Led the first ever research study on food insecurity in urban  Pakistan, done  by the e UN/World Food Program
iii.                Alternative Livelihood Scoping-disaster prone communities
Led the study commissioned by Oxfam GB
iv.                 Pakistan’s SPS compliance
Led World Bank Study on Pakistan’s Sanitary & Phytosanitary (SPS) compliance in the area of livestock & cross cutting legal framework
v.                    Impact of WTO regime on Pakistan’s Agriculture- Action Aid Pakistan

vi.                  Power Politics in the WTO- Action Aid Pakistan

vii.               WTO and OIC Countries-COMSTECH-OIC

viii.             Supporting Pakistan’s Mango Sector-SPS Compliance requirements for the export of mango from Pakistan, USAID,2012

ix.                 Green Skill Development- GIZ Pakistan,2012


 NB: A   list of some of the publications available on   http://old.parc.gov.pk/1SubDivisions/ParcHQ/WtoPub.html
      Research Management- Coordination   and M&E     
            -As Director Research at PARC for around 15 years, it remained my key responsibility
             -As Senior Manager Policy Research, HelpAge International

           - Impact assessment of humanitarian response to flood-
§  HelpAge International’s  commissioned study
§  Oxfam GB studies

           -Mid Term Review- Action Aid Pakistan’s Development Area-1

-Project Appraisals:
-          Part of assignment as Director Research at PARC
-          Pre project award appraisal of Pakistan Dairy Company- USAID/Grant Thornton/AASR, Pakistan
-          Plan International Pakistan’s End  Project Evaluation (Milk Value Chain)
 D.    Development Practitioner
       - Livelihood Development- Livestock & Dairy Development Government of Punjab, Pakistan
         and Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries sultanate of Oman


E.      Documentation/ Knowledge Management:
       - Research documentation at PARC, as Director Research and HelpAge International as
         Senior Manager Policy Research & Advocacy
       - Editor- more than 5 research journals/periodicals
       - Editor Food Security & Price Monitor Bulletin- UN/WFP, Pakistan
       -Editor, Agro-Veterinary News
       -Editor RAHAT (Rehabilitation & health Aid for Torture Victims) Medical & Human Rights Journal

F.     Advocacy & Mainstreaming:
        -Human Rights- on right-based planning, Voice Against Torture-VAT/RAHAT, working with
         School of Human Rights/VAT
        -Editor RAHAT Medical & Human rights journal
       - Age Demands Action (ADA) Campaign HelpAge International -old age mainstreaming
        -Human Rights & Social Protection
        - FIAN International (www.fian.org ) Focal Point Pakistan
         - Pakistan Television (PTV), Geo TV., Sohnee Dhartee TV, Dawn TV

G. Teaching:
        Visiting Faculty:
         -National Institute of Management/ National School of Public Policy (www.nimlhr.gov.pk)
        / former Pakistan Administrative Staff College, Lahoe, Pakistan
         -Fatima Jinnah Women University (www.fjwu.edu.pk ) for economics of protection & support
         -Islamic International University (www.iiu.edu.pk ) for IPRs, SPS & WTO
         NB: resource person for many national/international agencies including CUTS, SAWTEE and WTO
H. Policy Analysis:
   - Consultant MINFAL, Government of Pakistan
   -Consultant Pakistan Council for Science & Technology
  -Chief WTO, MINFAL, Government of Pakistan
  -Senior Manager-Policy Research-HelpAge International
  -Consultant Oxfam GB    
  -Analyst: - Pakistan Television(PTV), Geo TV., Sohne Dhartee TV, Dawn TV

I. Networking: Partner in Development/ Advocacy:

Have worked as resource person & partner in development for:

J. Institutional Development:

§  Founder Registrar/Secretary- Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council
§  Founder Chief-WTO Unit , MINFAL, Pakistan
§  Author University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences-UVAS (www.uvas.edu.pk ) project proposal
§  Author National Animal & Plant Health Inspection Services-NAPHIS project proposal-MINFAL  (GOP)
§  Founder PRAM(Policy Research, Advocacy & Mainstreaming) Unit, HelpAge International Pakistan
Education

§  M.Phil.  Quaid-E-Azam University (1988-1989)- www.qau.edu.pk 
§  Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM), University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, Lahore (1972-1976)- www.uvas.edu.pk  
International Trainings:


-          Strategic Planning (Heath)-GTZ Germany
-          Intellectuel Property (IPRs) Management-Swift, Cornel University
-          WTO-Food & Agriculture- World Trade Institute Bern, Switzerland
-          Sanitary & Phytosanitary (SPS) Specialization-WTO Geneva
-          Irradiation as SPS Treatment- IAE-FAO, Kulalumpur, Malsaysia
-          Market Reforms Analysis- FAO/UNESCAP





Languages

  • Urdu, English, Arabic, Punjabi and Saraiki
  • Can understand Hindko and Sindhi


 Computer Skills

Windows, MS–Word (Office, Power Point, Internet etc.)

Publications: 150 + publications
 Books/Major Reports:

1.                   World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreements and their Implications for a Developing Economy- a Training Manual, Pakistan, Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, Wajid H. Pirzada.
2.                   Action Aid Pakistan, Mid-term Review Report, 1998 by Ahmad, Jameel; Pirzada, W.H.; Malik, J. Bushra; Batool, Iram and Malik T.H.
3.                   Poultry Health and Management, Pakistan Poultry Association, First Edition, 1994, W.H. Pirzada.
4.                   Managing Biodiversity, ICIMOD, Nepal, 1999, W.H. Pirzada -Trade,
5.                    Managing Change under WTO, WTO/Cambridge Press : http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/casestudies_e/case35_e.htm
6.                   Globalization- Geo-economic World Order, FRIENDS Pakistan, 2000, Wajid H. Pirzada
7.                   Impact of WTO Agreement on Agriculture on Pakistan’s Agriculture, Action Aid international, Pakistan [2005]- http://www.actionaid.org/pakistan/images/Impact%20of%20Trade.pdf
8.                   Impact of WTO Agreement on Seed Industry in Asia,  Asia Pacifc Seed Industry ,APSA  Technical Report # 35[2003]- www.apsaseed.org/.../TR_No._35_Sanitary_and_Phytosanitary_Measure
9.                   Review of Dairy Sector of Pakistan, AASR, [2003]
10.               Power Politics in WTO, Action Aid International Pakistan
11.               Food insecurity in Rural Pakistan-2003, UN-WFP- www.sdpi.org/publications/publication_details-287-29.htm

12.               Pakistan’s Agro-based Exports and International SPS Managing the Challenge of WTO Participation: 45 Case Studies, WTO Geneva /WTO, Cambridge Press, 2006
13.               Alternative Livelihood Development, Oxfam GB-UK/Pakistan, 2008

14.               Trade Liberalization in Pakistan: Implications on Livelihoods of Vulnerable Farming Communities, EJAD-Pakistan, 2008.

15.               SPS Compliance Pakistan -The World Bank, 2005 (www.bnpp-kd.org/.../pakistans-agrobase-exports-and-sanitary-and-phyto...)
16.               The World Trade Organization (WTO) and Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), OIC Scientific & Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH), March 2005
17.               Global Change Perspective in Pakistan (Co-authored), APN, 2005

18.               Role of Sustainable Agriculture in Reducing Hunger and Sustaining Rural Livelihoods in Pakistan, EJAD-Pakistan, 2008.

19.               International Assessment of Ag S&T for Development (IAASTD) for CWANA region    (as Coordinating Lead Author)- www.unep.org/.../IAASTD/.../Agriculture%20at%20a%20Crossroads_Sy...

20.               Green Skills/Jobs-Opportunities-2012,GIZ
21.               Exports of Mango from Pakistan-SPS Requirements , USAID /EPfirms, Pakistan
22.               Pakistan SPS Action Plan :


Link to Publications:        http://old.parc.gov.pk/1SubDivisions/ParcHQ/WtoPub.html

References:

  1. Dr. Amir Muhammad(Former Chairman PARC)
 Rector National University of Computer & Emerging Sciences (FAST), H-11,Islamabad
Phone(s):  051-2855072, 0300-8552066

  1.  Mr. Shahid Khan
Partner Grant Thornton Pakistan, 1st Floor, 2-Ali Plaza,  Jinnah Avenue, Islamabad.
Phone(s): 051-2274665, 2273883, 0300-8551376
3.        Mehnaz Paracha
 Oxfam GB, IPC Coordinator, FAO Pakistan
Cell: +92-03468544257