Minister vows to reduce hunger to zero by 2030

ABDUL RASHEED AZAD

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Sahibzada Muhammad Sultan has said that the government will utilise all means to meet the zero hunger target set by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) for member nations by 2030.

He said this while speaking as a chief guest at an event, organized by Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC), FAO of the United Nations (UN) in collaboration with National Agriculture Research Council here on Tuesday, to mark World Food Day.

Sultan said that the day is celebrated every year for raising awareness about food security and demonstration of solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty.

The minister said that the theme of the day “Our Actions are our Future. A Zero Hunger World by 2030 is Possible” is relevant to the mandate of Ministry of Food Security and Research. He added that the idea demands strong commitment of multi-sectorial and multi-stakeholder partnerships to mobilize means of implementation.

The minister further added that the present government has given top priority to uplift agriculture and conserve water in its first 100 days. Certainly, the initiative of the present government will be geared towards reducing hunger to the zero level in Pakistan by the year 2030.

Mina Dowlatchahi, FAO Representative in Pakistan in her address highlighted the completion of 40 years of FAO in Pakistan. She said that FAO along with all other partners will have to continue to play respective roles for achieving zero hunger in Pakistan.

She said that it is encouraging to see Pakistan is taking steps in the right direction for reaching this goal. She hailed the steps taken by the government of Pakistan including National Food Security Policy and the Water Policy, putting emphasis on agriculture diversification and value addition. She said that the action taken towards resilient climate smart agriculture and water management, improved livelihoods of small farmers and tenants, safe drinking water and a National Zero Hunger Program show that the country is moving on right direction.

Federal Secretary for MNFS&R, Hashim Popalzai said that peace, progress and prosperity are greatly linked to the food security in a country. He said that to achieve the set targets, the government, researchers, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and communities must join hands to achieve this goal. He added that to achieve the target, the government has formulated suitable policies, strategies and actions which can be revised accordingly.

Agriculture researchers should increase their efforts to cope with the emerging challenges like climate change. Climate change adaptation has significant importance for poverty reduction.

Finbarr Curran, Country Director and Representative, United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Pakistan, said on the occasion that ending hunger will require investments in agriculture, rural development, nutrition, social protection and gender equality.

Chairman PARC Dr Yusuf Zafar said that World Food Day is celebrated every year to review, monitor and strengthen efforts for food security. Eradicating hunger and malnutrition is one of the great challenges of the present time, he said. Not only do the consequences of not enough-or the wrong-food cause suffering and poor health, they also slow progress in many other areas of development like education and employment.

Messages from the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan were read at the ceremony in which the longstanding partnership of government of Pakistan and FAO was highlighted.

Other speakers on the occasion highlighted the plus and negatives of the food and hunger related situation in Pakistan.

They said the country stands at 106th out of 119 developing countries in Global Hunger Index, however it is the third highest global producer and exporter of chickpea; fourth highest of rice and mango; fifth highest of milk, sugarcane, and date palm; sixth highest of apricot and citrus; and seventh highest of wheat and onion.