COMSTECH celebrates World Food Day, “Leave No One Behind”

Islamabad, The Gulf Observer: COMSTECH in partnership with UPSIGN, SAWIE, ICCFS, IFS & Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF) celebrated world food day. The slogan for world food day this year was “Leave No One Behind”.

To mark this year’s World Food Day, keynote talks and panel discussions were arranged with experts from all over the world with several years of experience in Agri-food research systems. The webinar discussed the key challenge faced by our food system from climate change and other threats.

The experts said that our food system is suffering from malnutrition and food security. The debate uncovered how sustainable use of natural resources could help to enhance productivity, soil health, water, and the role of biodiversity. The question of how can we address the food production crisis, protecting our soil microbes, plants, animals & natural capital, and produce healthy food to support a healthy life and a healthy planet was discussed.

The panelists also discussed the way forward to address the impact of COVID and recent floods in Pakistan on food security. They talked about how the research, and knowledge exchange of good practices could be translated to develop climate change adaptation strategies, mitigation, and what specific measures can be taken to support the climate crisis victims. The panelists pondered upon creating the resilient growth that does not leave anyone behind.

The experts noted that Pakistan is one of the top ten countries which are most vulnerable to the climate change crisis. They agreed that the climate change disaster has affected its food system with extreme heat, droughts, unpredicted rain patterns, and attacks from invasive species of pests & diseases.

COMSTECH the OIC Ministerial Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation, joined hands with the leading research, academic & farming organizations from Pakistan and around the world for hosting the World Food Day celebration. These partners were UPSIGN, SAWIE, ICCFS, IFS & Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF). UPSIGN is an educational charity based in the UK supporting collaborations between UK & Pakistan. SAWIE is a digital platform based in the UK and Pakistan offering farm advisory & data insights. International Center for Climate Change, Food Security & Sustainability (ICCFS)/Consortium on Climate Change, Sustainability & Conservation (CCSC), The Islamia University Bahawalpur are leading research organizations. The International Foundation for Science, IFS, is an international, non-governmental organization.