The Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) is an apex national agricultural research organization, with an autonomous status accorded in 1981, under the administrative control of Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, Government of Pakistan, working closely with the provincial agricultural research system and agricultural institutions. The Council's functions broadly include promoting, strengthening, coordinating, prioritizing and conducting agricultural research on crops, natural resources, animal sciences and social sciences in line with national economic and social development policies. The Council operates 23 regional research institutes in the different ecologies employing over 500 scientists of which ahout 200 have Ph.D degrees. The Council, while inter acting with the COJAR system, UN agencies and through bilateral programmes, is currently implementing 26 national agricultural coordinated research programmes in the area of crop production and protection, land and water resources, forestry and environment, animal production and health. These programs have substantially contributed to the national agricultural production efforts.

The National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) is the rnaior PARC's institution at Islamabad with the mandate to coordinate and conduct agricultural research. Like most developing countries the post production research in Pakistan too was neglected till 1980. The FAO Food Loss Prevention Program stimulated research and training on foodgrain loss assessment and loss prevention for wheat, rice and maize at farm level and in the public sector storage. Post harvest research programs have been developed at NARC Islamabad in the area of harvesting, threshing, drying machinery, etc., foodgrain storage and quality; chemical residues in food, shelf life extension of dairy products, honey and wool. Similar research programs have been established at Grain Storage Research Lab. at Karachi, the University(s) of Agriculture at Peshawar and Tandojam. A very useful data on loss assessment and loss prevention on major food grains (wheat, rice and maize) has been generated.