By Muhammad Soban Islamabad, April 04 (INP-WealthPK): Pakistan is using aeroponic technology in collaboration with South Korean experts to increase potato production and produce its own varieties of seed, reports WealthPK. Despite being an agricultural country, Pakistan has to import around 15,000 tons of potato seed per annum from different countries to meet the farmers’ demand. The import shaves USD400 million off the national exchequer annually. According to Ghulam M. Ali, Chairman of Pakistan Agricultural Research Center, Pakistan produces just one percent of potato seed and imports 99 percent from abroad. To overcome dependence on the imported potatoes seed, Pakistan has been utilizing South Korea’s experience in aeroponic technology to produce a potato variety that has more tubers and is disease-free. This project is jointly run by the Pakistan Agriculture Research Center and a South Korean firm with the aim to make Pakistan self-sufficient in potato production. Under the aeroponic technology, potatoes are grown in the air inside a greenhouse under a controlled environment. The process involves the use of water and nutrients. Through this method, plants grow faster and healthier, and yield more – all while using fewer resources. Talking to WealthPK, Basit Khattak, a PhD scholar working on potato production at the Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, said, "Pakistan is an agricultural country where more than 50 different varieties of potato are being cultivated according to different demands and use in the market." Owing to a lack of lab facilities and insufficient research, Pakistan could not produce its own potato seeds that are competitive with imported varieties. Pakistan has produced some of its own varieties, but they have less production due to different factors, including diseases. To get the highest yield [of potato], Pakistan has to import different varieties, including Kuroda, Sante, Lady Rosseta, Mosaica, Axtris, Esmee, Rudolph, Ronaldo, Arizona, Corazon, Meryem, Riviera, and Allouette, from different countries. Pakistan imports a greater share of seeds from the Netherlands, but exports to Europe are next to nil. He added that experiments like the aeroponic production of potato would positively affect Pakistan's economy. Growing potatoes using the aeroponic technology would help the country to produce its own variety of seeds that will give more yield. Getting a high yield from these varieties will enable Pakistan to export potatoes and earn handsome foreign reserves. Furthermore, to produce more varieties, the Government of Pakistan should play its role. There is a need to set up more labs and other facilities to help researchers work on different varieties.