Monsanto's Vice President ASEAN & Pakistan, Lance Wang has said that considering the challenges related to food security, climatic conditions, and water scarcity, it's time to embrace more technologically advanced approaches to agriculture for allowing us to produce food for a growing population in a sustainable way.
He was speaking at a discussion co-hosted by the Monsanto Pakistan, a global modern agriculture company and Forman Christian College (FCC) University, on 'International Adoption of Biotech Crops'. The interactive discussion with the faculty and students from Department of Biological Sciences covered a wide array of topics including crop biotechnology, precision agriculture, and ICT based solutions for farmers.
Lance further added, "In addition to ensuring food security for our future generations, modern agriculture will be central to augmenting farmer profitability and competitiveness".
The event served as an awareness raising forum for students and faculty members who not only enquired about the impediments to biotechnology adoption but also showed keen interest in upcoming technologies in agriculture.
Dean Postgraduate Studies at FCC University, Dr Kauser Abdulla Malik (H.I, S.I, T.I) while concluding the session remarked, "It is encouraging to see students actively participate in discussions pertaining to emerging issues and seek solutions through adoption of biotechnology for agricultural improvement and environmental preservation.
Today's highly interactive session highlights how academia and private sector can work together to raise awareness regarding the adoption of biotech crops and its benefits are not only for farmers but the general population as well."
According to UN estimates, world population is projected to increase by 50% by the year 2050. Given several additional challenges associated with climate change, land availability and water scarcity, modern and efficient agriculture practices will need to be employed to grow more with fewer resources.