AVN Correspondent
ISLAMABAD: An agriculture expert stresses the need to explore viable strategies for achieving sustainable agriculture and ensuring food security in the country.
Khan Faraz, an agriculture expert, speaking to the media highlighted the significance of considering potential actions that can propel Pakistan towards sustainable agriculture. Beyond traditional agriculture, Faraz highlighted the immense opportunity that aquaculture presents for substantial growth.
Expressing concern, he pointed out that food insecurity, coupled with challenges such as multifaceted inflation, poses a serious threat to the sector. These challenges have a direct impact on livelihoods, nourishment, gender participation, and various other facets, according to Faraz.
He said Pakistan, being an agrarian nation with agriculture contributing around 23 percent directly and over 45 percent indirectly to the economy, must transition towards sustainability and nature positivity. Striking a balance between economic necessities and ecological limitations becomes crucial in this pursuit, he added.
Faraz noted that the country’s greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture account for less than 2.0 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions linked with agriculture.
He underscored the need for Pakistan to focus on increasing crop production to reduce its current $10 billion spending on agriculture imports and enhance the $5 billion earned from agricultural exports, with a significant portion originating from rice exports alone.
The expert highlighted the potential to transform the economic equation by prioritising increased crop production, thereby fostering sustainability and increasing the agricultural sector’s contribution to the country’s prosperity.
