Measures to advance agricultural competitiveness hailed

LAHORE: The federal government has taken a critical step forwards in improving the country’s economic outlook, food security and the livelihood of its farmers by approving agricultural technology that will enable the production of more crops while using fewer resources and minimizing the impact to the environment.

This was stated by CropLife Asia’s Siang Hee Tan, and Sonny Tababa – the organization’s Executive Director and Biotechnology Affairs Director respectively while adressing a press briefing held on Friday, which was joined by CropLife Pakistan Executive Director Muhammad Afzal.

Both CropLife organizations welcomed the recent decision of the Ministry of Climate Change and the Ministry of National Food Security & Research to allow farmers to choose genetically-enhanced corn seeds that will help them produce better crops and reduce overall environmental impact.

“As population continues to grow here in Asia and around the world, we look to our farmers to produce more food with less arable land, less water, and less impact on the environment,” said Dr. Tan. “It’s quite a challenge, but it’s one that we can meet and overcome together by utilizing the latest agricultural innovations – including plant science technology.”

“The government is to be commended for taking this important step towards realizing a better future for their farmers and the nation’s economy as well as improve the country’s capacity to help meet the challenges of the growing world around us.”

Agriculture currently accounts for about 22 percent of Pakistan’s national GDP, while it accounts for less than 5 percent in the Netherlands and USA. These figures illustrate that it is not the number of hectares under plough, but the intensification of agriculture technologies that have the greatest impact, Increase in the Return on Investment (ROI) for growers is key to improve rural economies and provide enough food first and foremost for national needs. Currently, there are 41.1 million people in Pakistan who are undernourished.

“We should continue to use all the tools at our disposal, including biotechnology, to improve Pakistan farmers’ lives and to ensure we meet the community’s expectations of producing quality food and fiber in a safe and sustainable way,” Afzal said. “The government’s approval of insect-protected and herbicide-tolerant corn seeds will not only boost the corn farmer productivity, it will also encourage future local and international investment in Pakistan’s agricultural sector.”

A combination of technologies also plays a key role in supplying food sustainable. Key Goals for Plant Breeders and Biotechnology include protection against insect damage, responsible use of novel herbicide tolerances, disease resistance, hybrid systems to raise yield, nutrient-use efficiency, carbon sequestration, salinity tolerance, cold and frost tolerance, drought tolerance. Achieving all these goals requires not only traditional breeding skills, but also the use of novel molecular techniques and transgenics.