Experts Warn Of Food Insecurity In 2023

Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri, the Executive Director, Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) stressed the need for improving the food security situation - one of the most affected goals of SDGs to counter rising poverty

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Dec, 2022 ) :Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri, the Executive Director, Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) stressed the need for improving the food security situation - one of the most affected goals of SDGs to counter rising poverty.

He was speaking at a panel discussion titled: Transforming Food Systems to Meet the Emerging Challenges to Food Security, on the second day of the 25th Sustainable Development Conference (SDC) organized by SDPI and jointly held alongside UNESCAP's 6th South and Southwest Asia High-level Political Forum and Policy Dialogue on SDGs. The 4-day conference is being held in Islamabad from 5-8 December 2022.

He said that the triple-C crisis (COVID, Climate change and Conflict) has direct implications for food security and conflicts are hindering trade and disrupting access to humanitarian supplies across the globe. He warned that food security so far had been a matter of affordability whereas next year it will be an issue of availability. He said agricultural production will decline due to the limited trade of fertilizer from Russia and Ukraine.

Dr Lawrence Haddad, GAIN International, said that climate change is increasingly affecting nutrition compelling us to work harder to reach the most vulnerable. He said that Pakistan's progress towards the global nutrition growth is uneven and off track and, in some cases, getting worse. Arjan Dr Han, Director for South Asia IDRC, Canada said that shocks have become the new normal and food systems must build resilience to these shocks due to the recurrence and high frequency.

He further said that there is a need to understand how shocks compound and their impact on vulnerable communities. He said that constant engagement between policy makers and think-tanks like SDPI is crucial for informed decisions.

Arif Hussain, Chief Economist, World Food Programme, Italy said that 820 million people worldwide go to bed hungry every day, 349 million people are in a "hunger crisis" and out of these 49 million people are one step away from famine. He said that quantified global wealth is over 463 trillion Dollars yet in 21st century we have poverty and food insecurity of massive proportions which is amplified by conflicts. He said that climatic shocks and trade barriers from Russia-Ukraine region will exacerbate food insecurity both in terms of affordability and availability. He suggested developing model to reschedule debt payments for poor countries to enable import of necessary commodities.

Florence Rolle, FAO Representative in Pakistan, said that Pakistan lags behind modern farming, which is one of the reason behind high prevalence of hunger and stunting.

Shahid Tarar, owner of the Galaxy Rice Mills, said that most of Pakistan's rice is produced in Sindh which is massively affected by floods. He informed that there are 15% post harvesting losses which causes price hikes. He suggested inclusion of technology and availability of better seeds to reduce wastage, enhance production, and maintain price stability.