Punjab University Faculty of Agricultural Science’s De-partment of Food Sciences in collaboration with the Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD) of Pakistan organized an awareness seminar on ‘Impact of climate change on food security’ and walk under the theme of ‘Water is Life Water is Food’.
On this occasion, Dean Faculty of Agriculture Science Prof Dr Muhammad Saleem Haider, Head of Operations at HHRD Sajid Ali, faculty members and a large number of students were present. The distinguished guest speakers at the seminar included Dean Faculty, Dr Saleem Haider, Chairman Department of Food Sciences Dr Shanawar Waseem Ali, President of the National Alliance for Safe Food Rana Awais Khan, Head of Quality Assurance at Yums Group and former DD Food, Dr Mubeen Awan and climate specialist Dr Arshad Javed.
They addressed the topic of ‘Impact of Climate Change on Food Security’. Regional Coordinator Central Punjab Tauseef Sardar Awan introduced HHRD and the Manag-er of Operations highlighted HHRD’s contributions to-wards the zero-hunger goal. It was highlighted that the production in the Asia region is currently lower than its consumption.
Moreover, climate change has posed severe food security threats to the region, with floods in 2022 causing $3.7 billion in losses to food systems. There is a pressing need to enhance production through support to smallholders and the introduction of high-yield varieties and improved breeds.
‘In Pakistan, 184 million people cannot afford a healthy diet. One-third (1/3) of the world’s population faces li-mited water access and 783 million people worldwide experience food insecurity. Pakistan may confront abso-lute water scarcity by 2025 due to inadequate policy planning, research, population growth, climate change, and inefficient water management.
Climate change has both direct and indirect impacts on the agricultural production system, driven by rising tem-peratures and shifting rainfall patterns,” experts empha-sized. The seminar highlighted sustainable agriculture’s role in addressing climate change by optimizing produc-tion and minimizing carbon footprint.
It also underscored the importance of resilient farming systems. The event showcased collective action and youth advocacy for climate change, demonstrating HHRD’s commitment to fostering sustainable solutions. Nationwide survey on milk quality and safety conducted by University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) found 92 percent of loose milk samples to be non-compliant to quality and safety parameters. Moreover, 54% milk samples were found unfit for human con-sumption.
An event was held at Avari Towers in Lahore to disse-minate the results. Five quality and safety parameters were tested for compliance with regulatory limits. These included composition, adulteration, antibiotic residues, Aflatoxin M1 and heavy metals. Loose milk was largely found non-compliant to these parameters. There was no nationally representative data on the safety and quality of loose milk in Pakistan and this national survey conducted by UVAS aimed to provide it. This national survey was conducted in the 11 major cities of Pakistan by Nielsen, a top multinational research agency which designed its sampling plan to ensure authenticity of results. A total 1206 loose milk samples were collected. The detailed findings of this research report were presented in a special health seminar in Lahore by Associate Professor Dr Azmat Ullah Khan from Department of Food Science & Human Nutrition (UVAS)/Principal Investigator of this project in the presence of UVAS Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Nasim Ahmed. Apart from this, Vice-Chancellor University of Education Prof Dr Talat Naseer Pasha also expressed his views.
