The sustainable food system can be achieved in Pakistan through a multi-prone strategy by introducing technologies like biotech crops, efficient food distribution and drought tolerance in agriculture system. Experts told Business Recorder here on Thursday that food production must be sufficient, in quantity and quality, to feed the population without unacceptable environmental impacts. Secondly, there is need for adoption of agricultural technologies to produce more from existing resources to meet the food demand challenges.
Technologies like biotech and drought tolerance should be introduced in the agriculture system. Thirdly, there is need for sufficiently efficient food distribution so that a diverse range of foods containing adequate nutrition is available to all, again without unacceptable environmental impacts. Globally, biotech crops are helping cover this aspect and fourth is equitable socio-economic conditions, such that all consumers can access the quantity and range of foods needed to enable a healthy diet. Lastly, consumers need to be able to make informed and rational choices, such that they consume a healthy and environmentally sustainable diet.
They said that Pakistani food system has major impacts of environment including greenhouse gas emissions, water abstraction, soil, water and air pollution, land use change and loss of biodiversity, threatening food security and sustainability.
Pakistan is one of the countries that are most affected by disaster and climate change in the world and over 39% of its population still live in the shadow of multidimensional poverty. In the 2017 Global Hunger Index, Pakistan ranked 106th out of 119 qualifying countries. With a score of 32.6, its status is 'serious' bordering on 'alarming'.
The nutritionists said that with population increases, it will become more difficult to move towards a sustainable food system. Achieving food system sustainability is, therefore, a hugely complex but necessary goal.
A comprehensive overview of Pakistan's nutrition situation was provided in National Nutrition Survey, which showed that many of the most disconcerting statistics are related to conditions in the southern province of Sindh where 50 percent of children under the age of five were stunted.
Studies have clearly suggested that challenge of sustainable producing sufficient food for the growing population will not necessarily be solved by increase in production; rather, there is a need to plan out the food system very systematically and strategies should be much targeted according to every region keeping in mind the needs of that area and number that has to be catered. There are areas in the country where the food and population ratio is safe to be said sufficient but food security is not ensured because of the lack of food supplies but due to the social factors.
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