Federal
Minister for National Food Security and Research Sikander Bosan attended
Workshop on Advances in Agricultural Biotechnology and Regulatory Affairs as
Chief Guest at F .C College Lahore.
“Holding
of such a workshop is an important step in forging collaborations and for
learning from each other”, said by the Federal Minister for National Food
Security and Research while addressing the participants of workshop. He further
added that sustainable agricultural productivity cannot be achieved without the
input of modern science and technology including biotechnology. However, modern
agriculture means a lot more than what meets the eye. It is based on latest knowledge grounded in
research that introduces technologies with acceptability by the farmers. This
kind of transformation may be easy to discuss in a class room or a seminar but
difficult to translate into action. A move from centuries old traditional
methods to technology driven agricultural practices pose a huge challenge that
needs extra ordinary effort by extra ordinary men & women who speak louder
through actions than words. It is in this context that developments in
Agricultural Biotechnology should be seen.
He
further highlighted the establishment of Federal Food Safety Authority called
NAPHIS will further facilitate development of all
technologies related to food security.It will be brought up to the National
Assembly for enactment very soon. He also informed the audience It is now well
understood that food security cannot be achieved by only increasing
agricultural productivity but it is affordability and accessibility that has to
be ensured. In addition the nutrition component, which has been highlighted,
must be taken care of if food security in its true sense has to be achieved.
He
also highlighted that the Zero Hunger program and other projects such as Kissan
Package are efforts to ensure exports and availability of farm inputs at
affordable prices to uplift the plight of small farmers who constitute nearly
80% of the farms and to ensure that their nutrition and educational
requirements are met.
The
workshop was also attended by Dr. James Tebbe, Rector F.C.CollegeUniversity,Ms.
Mina Dowlatchahi, FAO Representative,Mr. Malik Zahoor, Senior Advisor MNFSR,Mr.
Muhammad Mahmood, Secretary Agriculture Punjab
And Dr. Kauser Abdulla Malik.
