ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Federal Education& Professional Training Engr. Baligh Ur Rahman on Tuesday said the looming threat of water scarcity and adverse impacts of climate change had complicated the serious challenge of ensuring food security for fast increasing populations of the Asian countries.
He was speaking at the inaugural session of three-day international workshop on “Challenges in Water Security to Meet the Growing Food Requirement” here. The workshop has been organized by the Pakistan Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with Association of Academies and Societies of Sciences in Asia (AASSA).
The minister said water was a key determinant for crop production and food security. “Agriculture is the biggest user of water; it requires large quantities of water for irrigation and other production processes. The current trend of water use in Asian countries is not sustainable in the face of fast increasing populations, and the challenges posed by climate change. Thus, ensuring food security for fast growing populations of Asian countries with shrinking water resources is a daunting task.”
The fast changing scenario called for using the finite water resource in an efficient
and sustainable manner, he said, adding that the challenge was to produce more in a more sustainable way.
President of Pakistan Academy of Sciences, Dr. Anwar Nasim, and Vice President of AASSA, Professor Nakim Asar, who is a senior scientist of Turkey, also spoke on the occasion.
Leading experts of Pakistan, Turkey, Malaysia, Korea and Nepal are the resource persons at this important forum. In addition to technical presentations and discussions by the experts, penal discussions will be led by senior scientists like Dr. Amir Muhammed, Engr. Shamsul Mulk, and Dr. Mubarik Ali.
INP