Agri Scientists Must Make Efforts To Minimize Losses For Ensuring Food Security: Fakhar Imam

Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam on Monday said that pest and plant diseases cause 40 percent losses to farmers and agricultural scientists must make integrated efforts to minimize these losses to ensure food security

FAISALABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Nov, 2021 ) :Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam on Monday said that pest and plant diseases cause 40 percent losses to farmers and agricultural scientists must make integrated efforts to minimize these losses to ensure food security.

He was addressing the inaugural session of 7th Phytopathological Conference at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) as chief guest through video link.

He said that climate changes had provoked outbreak of diseases, causing reduction in the agricultural productivity. He said that cotton cruel leaf virus, mangoes trees sudden death, rust of wheat, potato and other crops diseases had incurred heavy losses to national exchequer in the past. He stressed upon the need to enhance the efforts for biological control.

Syed Fakhar Imam said that the government was taking all possible measures under Prime Minister Agriculture Emergency Programme to uplift the sector and to address the grievances of the farming community. He added that 40 percent of our population was malnourished that was a matter of grave concern. He said that the researchers should come up with viable solution to address the problems of farming community and increase productivity in order to ensure food security. He said that China was becoming largest economy, and we should learn how China made tremendous development. He said we are the seventh largest country in the world in terms of population and it was the need of the hour to increase the productivity to feed the ever increasing population.

UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said,"Our agriculture is in the grip of different challenges despite the being of the best eco system, climate and others". According to the estimates, by 2050, the country population will touch to 300 million for which we have to take effective measures to ensure the food security.

He said that 22,000 UAF students had visited nine-day farmers' fields in five divisions of the province from November 12 to 20 aimed at disseminating new wheat technologies. He said that wheat production can be doubled in the country. He said effective measures were being taken at the government level to stabilize agricultural development and increase per acre production.

Dean Faculty of Agriculture Prof Dr Amanullah Malik said that under the Wheat Sowing Campaign, as many as 22000 students recently visited five divisions including Gujranwala, Lahore, Sargodha, Faisalabad and Sahiwal to equip the farming community about modern research on wheat and modern trends. He said that the agriculture was the backbone of the economy, contributing to 19.2 percent to the Gross Domestic Product.

President Pakistan Phytopathological Society Tariq Mukhtar said that development of new and innovative ways to control plant diseases was a constant challenge for plant pathologists.

Prof Dr Nazir Javed said that the UAF was the mother of all agricultural institutions in the country and making all out efforts for agricultural development.

Prof Dr Shahbaz Talib Sahi urged the need to expedite the efforts to cope with the challenges confronting the agricultural sector. He said that the country was blessed with the tremendous resources.

Dr Manzoor Hussain Somro said that conference was a fruitful discussion forum for national and international plant pathologists and provide an opportunity to bring faculty, researchers, students, scientists, farmers, and industrialists together in open dialogue under one roof.