Pakistan PM urges world to promote sustainable agriculture to combat hunger

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that 100 million people globally will become poor due to the COVID-19 pandemic, urging the world to promote sustainable agriculture to combat hunger.

Khan made the comments during a virtual keynote address at the Governing Council of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), according to a statement by his office.

He said that the global population will soon reach 8 billion people when 600 million suffer from hunger and over 100 million children are stunted due to under nourishment.

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to push another 100 million people into extreme poverty, he said, adding that already over 20 countries are food insecure.

He urged for a common plan and strategy for global recovery, and survival and prosperity of all humanity, including debt relief for the poor nations.

Proposing an agenda to eliminate poverty and hunger, he said, first, we need to invest in sustainable agriculture infrastructure to facilitate transport, production and distribution of agricultural inputs and food products.

He said the governments need to more actively ensure adequate and fair prices for agricultural and food products.

He also said that the new agricultural technologies and techniques must be consciously applied to enhance food production.

Khan also said that it was time to re-think the patterns of food consumption and production.

We can eat better and many of us would do well to eat less. We can produce food with greater respect for nature. We can stop the pollution of our lakes, rivers and oceans. We can produce more with less water, and without dangerous chemicals, he said.

Talking about the situation in Pakistan, he said that it has integrated the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into the national development plan, and his government has accorded the highest priority to achieve SDG-1 no poverty; and SDG-2 zero hunger.