Islamabad-Federal Secretary National Food and Security, Zafar Hassan has warned that currently Pakistan is facing serious challenges for food and nutritional security that needs enough resources and funds to compensate for the loss of crops and livestock in recent floods to our farmers.
He was speaking at an event in Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) held to celebrate World Food Day 2022. The event was organized by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) along with the World Food Program (WFP), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UN-Women, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), and Ministry of National Food Security & Research.
The Secretary highlighted the fact that the damage to Pakistan’s agricultural sector would also be felt across the globe. Pakistan is one of the world’s top producers and exporters of cotton and rice, which the flood destroyed. He further said that agriculture has special importance for Pakistan’s economy, which at present is contributing about 19 per cent to the national GDP, and generating employment opportunities for more than 35 percent of the labour force.
However, in order to provide relief to the farmers and uplift the agriculture sector, the government is devising farmer-friendly policies, focusing on strengthening the seed system, enhancing farm mechanization, promoting value addition, minimizing post-harvest losses and creating digital marketing platforms, he said.
Speaking on occasion, Julien Harneis, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in Pakistan, talked about the importance of food and how every celebration in life revolves around food. However, he stressed the fact that many people do not have enough to eat and particularly after the floods, food insecurity and malnutrition are rising as existing vulnerabilities are intensified.
He stressed that on this World Food Day, we as a nation must address food wastage, not only at an individual household level but also in how we produce, process and store food in Pakistan. As we go forward with the efforts of reconstruction and rehabilitation, we must ensure that building better and more efficient food systems is included in that process.
A three-day photo exhibition on the importance of food, food security and climate resilient agriculture was also inaugurated, which will remain open to the public till October 16.
