Agriculture sector: Disaster risk management discussed

ISLAMABAD: A workshop at the Food and Agriculture Organisation office on Monday finalised institutional assessment on the integration of disaster risk management for the agriculture sector of the country.  It was jointly organised by FAO, Disaster Management Authority (DMA) and Civil Society Organisation(CSOs). Francisco Gamarro, representative of the FAO, said, “This assessment is a key tool to further develop the capacity of the agricultural institutions to mainstream the disaster risk management, with a special focus on disaster risk reduction, in their planning and action”.  Every year, Pakistan is struck by a multitude of natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, droughts, landslides and avalanches, and agriculture is one of the sectors most affected by these phenomena. With a 21% share of the national GDP and a 45% share of Pakistan’s total workforce, it is crucial that the sector is able to prevent and mitigate the impact of natural disasters.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 26^th,  2016.