STAFF REPORT IBD: Despite growth of agricultural output Pakistan is still suffering from food security issue, facing high level of hunger and malnutrition”, and climate change is threat to this country that can be tackled by educating communities.
Vice Chancellor, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), Dr Rashid Amjad, said this while addressing a project inception workshop on Climate Change Adaptation; Water and Food Insecurity in Pakistan here recently.
The project gets technical and financial support from Canadas International Development Research Centre (IDRC). The research partners include PIDE, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), and Social Policy Development Centre (SPDC), Karachi. The overall objective of the project is to generate quality information on the subject and building research capacity.
Dr Rashid said that Pakistan was the gift of Indus and our economy was built on it and still majority of our people depend for their livelihood on agriculture irrigated with its waters. About 80 % of our exports are related to agriculture sector, he added.
Dr Nadeem-Ul-Haque, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, said, “We have to grow faster to meet the climate change as with lack of resources, we wont be able to adapt and undertake mitigating measures like building flood or earth quake proof houses and will relay on mass migration like moving away from flood or earth quake plates.”