CompletedFeb 2019 – Aug 20245.5-year international projectNational Lead, PakistanCo-Lead, South Asia
UKRI South Asia Nitrogen Hub for sustainable nitrogen management
A 5.5-year international mega-project with executive leadership serving concurrently as National Lead for Pakistan and Co-Lead for South Asia. The initiative advanced sustainable nitrogen management across South Asian agroecosystems while addressing the environmental impacts of reactive nitrogen pollution, delivering scientific insights and transboundary solutions that balance agricultural productivity with ecological resilience.
Partners
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)South Asian partner institutions
Key objectives & contributions
Targeted emissions and pollution reductionEvaluated and implemented strategies to minimise reactive nitrogen losses, curbing ammonia (NH₃) volatilisation, nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions and nitrate (NO₃⁻) leaching.
Ecosystem protectionAssessed transboundary impacts of reactive nitrogen pollution on vulnerable ecosystems, with a focus on marine environments and sensitive mountain regions.
Regional and national leadershipLed Pakistan's national research agenda and coordinated regional initiatives to harmonise nitrogen management policies across South Asia.
Completed2024 – 20273-year research initiative4 consecutive crop cycles
Mitigating N₂O emissions from maize–wheat cropping systems
An institutional collaboration between the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad and China Agricultural University. The three-year initiative includes two full years of multi-crop field evaluations across four consecutive crop cycles.
Partners
University of Agriculture, FaisalabadChina Agricultural University
Key objectives & contributions
Inhibitor performance testingEvaluating the field efficacy of imported Chinese nitrification and urease inhibitors to minimise nitrogen losses.
Emission quantificationMeasuring reactive nitrogen and monitoring direct N₂O emissions under diverse soil and fertilizer amendments.
National impactContributing baseline datasets toward Pakistan's standardised national greenhouse gas emission factors.
Field trialsManaging high-precision agronomic field experiments at the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad research farm.
CompletedFeb 2025 – Jun 2026Asian Development BankRegional capacity building
Green Skills and Just Transition in the CAREC region
Launched by the Asian Development Bank and led by Wageningen University & Research, in association with the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. The initiative builds institutional capacity across Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) member universities, uniting international leadership with local academic expertise for long-term regional cooperation.
Partners
Asian Development Bank (ADB)Wageningen University & ResearchUniversity of Agriculture, Faisalabad
Key objectives & contributions
Advancing a just transitionMainstreaming green and climate-smart competencies across higher education curricula for an equitable transition aligned with labour markets.
Joint climate-smart agriculture researchCross-border research on climate-resilient cropping, nature-based solutions, GHG mitigation, digital agriculture and resource management.
Strengthening the research–education nexusInfrastructure sharing, policy-driven innovation and knowledge exchange so universities lead sustainable agricultural transformation.
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