World Food Day 2022

Leave NO ONE behind
Addressing Pakistan Food Security Challenge -Post Floods
11th October 2022

Virtual Event Only

World Food Day 2022 aims to ensure healthy food for all with the theme “Safe food today for a healthy tomorrow -Climate Change Threats to Food Security”. According to World Health Organization (WHO), about 2.3 billion people in the world (29.3%) were moderately or severely food insecure in 2021 – 350 million more compared to before the outbreak of the COVID‑19 pandemic. Millions of people cannot afford a healthy diet, putting them at high risk of food insecurity and malnutrition. But ending hunger isn’t only about supply but about the quality of the nutrition. Although there is enough food produced today to feed everyone on the planet, the problem is access and availability of nutritious food. It is increasingly impeded by multiple challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic, conflict, climate change, droughts, heat, floods, inequality, rising prices, and international conflicts. Worldwide, more than 80 percent of the extreme poor live in rural areas and many rely on agriculture and natural resources for their living. The impact of climate change is worst on poor communities due to poor income, gender, and ethnic origin.  The majority of these communities live in rural areas as smallholder farmers with less than 2 hectares. They have poor access to nutritious & enough food,  training, finance, innovation, and technologies.

Pakistan is one of the top ten countries which are most vulnerable to the climate change crisis. The climate change disaster has affected its food system with extreme heat, droughts, unpredicted rain patterns, and attacks from invasive species of pests & diseases. Eg Locust attack in 2020, and the ongoing threat of zoonotic diseases including Malaria and Dengue, Lumpy skin disease in cattle, etc.  . Pakistan has suffered from the worst flood in decades affecting 33 million population in 110 districts, 10 million acres of crops, 0.97 million Livestock, and almost 2 million houses (FAO).

COMSTECH, OIC cooperation on Science and Technology (comstech.org) is joining hands with the leading research, academic & farming organizations from Pakistan and around the world for hosting this second year of World Food Day celebrations. These partners are UPSIGN, SAWIE, ICCFS,  IoFS & Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF). UPSIGN is an educational charity based in the UK supporting collaborations between UK & Pakistan (www.upsign.org.uk), SAWIE a digital platform based in the UK and Pakistan offering farm advisory & data insights (www.sawie.net) International Center for Climate Change, Food Security & Sustainability (ICCFS)/Consortium on Climate Change, Sustainability & Conservation (CCSC), The Islamia University Bahawalpur (https://ccsc.iub.edu.pk) are leading research and collaborations. IoFS. The International Foundation for Science, IFS, is an international, non-governmental organization, founded in 1972. The mission of IFS is to contribute to strengthening the capacity of developing countries to conduct relevant and high-quality research on the sustainable management of biological resources.

 To mark this year’s World Food Day, we have organized keynote talks and panel discussions with experts coming from all over the world with several years of experience working in Agri-food research systems. The webinar will be discussing the key challenge faced by our food system from Climate change and other threats. As a  result, our food system is suffering from malnutrition and food security. The debate will uncover how sustainable use of natural resources could help to enhance productivity, soil health, water, and the role of biodiversity. How can we address the food production crisis, protecting our soil microbes, plants, animals & natural capital? How can we produce healthy food to support a healthy life and a healthy planet?

 The panelists will also be discussing a way forward post covid and Pakistan floods affect food security.  How the research, and knowledge exchange of good practices could be translated to develop climate change adaptation strategies, mitigation, and taking specific measures to support the climate crisis victims.

This symposium will set out key research priorities to develop collaborations for short- and longer-term plans to deliver tangible benefits through engaging stakeholders from research, academia, policy makers and farming industry.  Such collaborations will support vulnerable groups through delivering the impact of research, the use of digital transformation approaches for promoting climate-smart agriculture practices, producing high-quality food, and enhancing the income of these poor communities through linking with the markets.  Particularly delivering impact on women and youth inclusion in the Agri-Food systems to achieve sustainable, inclusive, and resilient growth that does not Leave NO ONE behind.

For Registration Click here :

PROGRAM: 11 October 2022: 12:00-15:00 (Pakistan Standard Time)

Chair  Prof. Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhary (HI, SI, TI), Coordinator General COMSTECH