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| November 27, 2005 | Sunday | Shawwal 24, 1426 |
Moot stresses need for sustainability of agriculture
HYDERABAD, Nov 26: Federal Minister for Narcotics Control Ghaus Bux Mahar has said the agriculture sector constitutes one-fourth of the country’s GDP, agriculture products exports represent 70 per cent of national export earnings and this sector provides 65 per cent raw materials to manufacturing sectors.
He was speaking at the closing session of a three-day second national conference on “agriculture and animal sciences,” organized by the Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam, on Friday.
Mr Mahar said globalization and modern means of communication had had a bearing on all economic sectors of the country, including agriculture.
He said sharing of genetic resources, biodiversity, knowledge and technology had resulted in international inter-dependency.
The minister said global warming, threat to the ozone layer, deserts consuming agricultural lands and environmental degradation which initially were problems of rich nations had now become survival issues for developing nations.
He observed that many critical survival issues were related to uneven development, poverty and population growth which placed unprecedented pressure on lands, waters, forests and other natural resources. He said reduction of biodiversity throughout the world created serious problems for maintenance of ecological equilibria on the planet.
Mr Mahar said ecologists focused on on-site and off-site effects of agriculture on environment without considering agriculture as a livelihood. On the other hand, he said, economists were concerned with economic return of labour and resources invested in the farming process. Agronomists occupied themselves with physical performance of the production system, he said.
He said this specialization or reductionism of established scientific disciplines was at times necessary but often created confusion for decision makers who had to decide future directions of technical development in agriculture.
Under these circumstances, he said, all aspects of agriculture must be addressed because each one was essential for sustainability of the sector. He said the ecological view, economic view and the social view should be considered when attempting to define sustainable agriculture.
University of Sindh vice-chancellor Mazharul Haq Siddiqui, who inaugurated the conference, said sustainability of agriculture should be given priority to feed the growing population.
He pointed out that sustainable agriculture integrated three main goals – environmental health, profitability and social and economic equity.
He said agriculture was the backbone of Pakistan’s economy and just one crop, cotton, and its related products accounted for over 60 per cent of country’s exports.
He said, per acre yield of cotton and other major crops remained below their potential. Therefore, he said, there was a need for mechanised farming and better management. He said there should be strict monitoring of the quality of fertilizers and pesticides.
He also spoke on anomalies of the world trade and said rich countries spent just over one billion dollars a year on aid to developing countries but about one billion dollars a day for supporting their own agriculture.
He said the WTO trade-related intellectual property rights struck a wrong balance between interests of technology holders and non-technology holders. He said Pakistan should patent its products/specialities through the World Intellectual Property Organization.
He hoped that the conference would consider all aspects of the agriculture sector and forward its recommendations to quarters concerned.
Sindh Agriculture University vice-chancellor Prof (Dr) Bashir Ahmad Shaikh spoke about university’s over Rs2 billion seven-year development plan to enhance research capabilities to increase agriculture productivity, alleviate poverty and ensure food security.
He said conservation of natural resources was the key to sustainable agriculture. He said it was essential for developing countries to harvest advantages of genetic engineering, stem cell propagation and tissue culture.
He said future development strategies must simultaneously address economic objectives, social concerns and ecological constraints.
Dr Shaikh said the greatest challenge was to increase food and non-food crop production while maintaining the eco-system stability and rehabilitating the environment.
He said there was a need to ensure genetic improvements, reproductive efficiency, improved animal health and resource conservation.
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission member Dr Kausar Abdullah Malik, Baqai Veterinary College (Karachi) principal Dr Ghaus Bux Essani, and former Sindh Agriculture University vice-chancellor Dr Abdul Qadir Ansari also spoke at the conference.
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