Govt striving to address food insecurity

Planning secretary says they are formulating 12th Five Year Plan

ISLAMABAD: The government is striving to eliminate hunger and all forms of malnutrition in compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) target 2.1 and 2.2, said Planning, Development and Reform Secretary Zafar Hasan.

He said the launch of the national food security policy and multi-sector nutrition strategy showed the government's resolve towards addressing the challenge of zero hunger in Pakistan under the SDGs.



He was addressing a roundtable conference on "The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World", organised by the Centre for Rural Economy Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Speaking to the conference participants, Hasan said Pakistan recognised the importance of food security. Pakistan had produced surplus wheat and sugar, but still approximately 18% of the population was facing food insecurity.

Several factors like lack of awareness of healthy food and poor access due to low income and geographical barriers are the main reasons that upset the dietary system of households. As a result, stunting is 42%, which is one of the highest in the world, and this phenomenon is not only in the rural areas of Pakistan but even the urban sectors are suffering from this.

The secretary remarked that despite being the least contributor to climate change and global warming, Pakistan was amongst the worst sufferers. "Availability and storage of water has now become one of the most critical issues."

He shared that the country's agriculture sector had already witnessed floods in 2010 and 2011, which caused losses of $7.6 billion, a hefty amount for an economy like Pakistan.

Therefore, realising the threat of climate change, Pakistan is one of the first signatories to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) and is now going to actively participate in COP-24 Katowice 2018.



He said, "We are formulating the 12th Five Year Plan to reduce hunger which includes the establishment of a food security information system, improving food accessibility and creating awareness of food consumption."

Published in The Express Tribune, October 13^th, 2018.

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