ISLAMABAD: Agriculture experts have stressed the significance of “climate smart” agriculture to achieve food security and broader development goals under a changing climate and increasing demand for food.
Khan Faraz, an agriculture expert, told media that almost one-third of the country’s land area has been submerged in the floods, damaging the economy, infrastructure and livelihoods, and leaving some 300 million people food insecure.
The current changes in monsoons and increased temperatures are now likely to bring considerable challenges to the agricultural sector, particularly in the northern areas, where vulnerability to climate change is already high, he added.
Faraz further stated that climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is an integrated approach to managing landscapes, cropland, livestock, forests and fisheries that addresses the interlinked challenges of food security and accelerating climate change. Therefore, investment in CSA would be required to ensure a stable food supply in this dynamic economy in the face of climate change.
He said Pakistan is an agriculture country. Agriculture is the backbone of the country’s economy. Agriculture remains the second largest economic sector in the country, contributing approximately 25 percent to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and absorbing roughly 42 percent of the labour force.
He stressed that there is a need to introduce CSA to achieve food security and broader development goals under a changing climate and increasing food demand. Also, investment should be made to improve seed quality, modernize farming technology and techniques, and transform water infrastructure to tackle the emerging challenges to the agricultural sector, especially in the context of the harsh monsoon season, he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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