Pakistan may face national food insecurity by 2030, so there was a need for swift implementation of agri-biotech applications in the country in order to meet the food and fiber needs for the growing population, said speakers while addressing the launch of international report titled "ISAAA Brief 44" which details global overview of the biotechnology application in developed and developing countries including Pakistan.
Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Muhammad Khaleeq-ur-Rahman chaired the launch ceremony of the international report organised by the Pakistan Biotechnology Information Center (PABIC) at GCU Institute of Industrial Biotechnology.
Addressing the ceremony Pakistan Academy of Sciences General Secretary Professor Dr Anwar Nasim said if biotechnological advancements were not used for meeting the challenges, a major national crisis was expected which might lead to food related riots in the country in near future.
Speaking on the occasion, Vice Chancellor Professor Rahman urged the participants to identify the bottlenecks which were hindering the much need applications of biotechnology, despite genuine needs of the country. Dr Clive James, the author of ISAAA Brief 44, in his recorded message to the audience said that, it was the great challenge to provide sufficient food to the growing population of the world.
He said that Pakistani population would reach to 250 million by 2050. "Therefore, it is a need to design coherent policies work and grow the crops which need less water, less fertiliser and give more yields," he added. Dr Clive James said that 2012 was the 17th year of the commercialisation of biotech, crops and it was encouraging that this year developing countries planted about 52 percent of the total global biotech crop.