LAHORE: Punjab Food Safety and Consumer Protection Minister Salma Butt on Thursday said that promoting modern and environment-friendly agricultural practices was essential to addressing climate change, ensuring food security and providing quality and adulteration-free food to the public.
She noted that rising temperatures, water scarcity and the impact of climate change on agricultural production posed major challenges to food security and hence stressed the need for efficient water use, sustainable agricultural policies and modern farming technologies to mitigate the effects of climate change and maintain agricultural productivity. “Adopting effective strategies to protect crops from changing weather conditions was necessary to meet the country’s food requirements.”
She also said that food security required particular attention to food availability, quality, nutritional value and affordability. She emphasised effective monitoring of all stages of the food supply chain, including production, storage, transportation and sale, to ensure the provision of safe food across Punjab. She added that the effective implementation of food safety laws could help prevent adulteration, the sale of substandard food and practices harmful to public health.
The minister averred that ensuring safe and quality food was not solely the government’s responsibility, adding that strong cooperation among relevant government departments, farmers, businesses and the public was also essential. She called for improved monitoring systems, effective enforcement of food safety laws and greater public awareness to strengthen food security.
“Coordinated efforts by all relevant departments were necessary to improve Punjab’s food safety and food security systems and ensure the availability of safe, quality and nutritious food to the public,” he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026