The National Productivity Organisation, Ministry of Industries and Production is to hold a five-day international seminar on the issues related to the Agriculture Sector

19-Jan-2013

ISLAMABAD: The National Productivity Organisation (NPO) of the Ministry of Industries & Production is to hold a five-day international seminar on Monday in Islamabad to discuss issues related to the agriculture sector, said sources.
The seminar will gather experts from 20 countries and some of these issues discussed will be related to irrigation sector and food security. Khawaja Muhammad Yousuf, CEO of NPO, said: "The event will be a major breakthrough in food security and will hopefully turn the collaborative knowledge of various stakeholders into action, thereby leaving a visible impact on the Pakistani economy."
Currently, not only Pakistan but other countries in Asia are subject to shrinking water resources, which is why this issue will be discussed along with innovative approaches, he added. "Such approaches can help address the challenges of irrigated agriculture, which has the potential to produce more food with existing water resources, and prevent the deterioration of water quality through contamination by soil runoff, nutrients, and agrochemicals," he said.
The seminar will be organised by NPO in collaboration with Asian Productivity Organisation (NPO), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), UK-based World Confederation of Productivity Science (WCPS). The Ministry of Food Security and Research is also collaborating in organising the event.
Experts will discuss issues that could lead towards the formation of innovative strategies for investment in developing infrastructure, reforming institutions and building capacity.
This international programme comes with the realisation that achieving food security in the face of additional food demand could be possible through raising the productivity of existing irrigated farmlands, upgrading rain fed farming and increasing international trade in food for overcoming food security issues of the future.
In view of the untapped food production potential of irrigated agriculture in Pakistan, raising productivity of this sector must be the key consideration in producing additional food needed, said sources.

« Go Back