TOBA TEK SINGH: The University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) marked the World Food Day on the theme, “Water is life, water is food, leave no one behind,” which encourages action for food and nutrition security.

The event that had a walk and a seminar was jointly celebrated by Pak-Korea Nutrition Centre and National Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFSAT), Faculty of Food, Nutrition and Home Science UAF, Punjab Food Authority and Faisalabad Wasa.

UAF Vice Chancellor Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan led the walk while Dr Masood Sadiq Butt, Dr Imran Pasha, Dr Jalal Arif, Dr Binish Israr, Dr Ahmad Din, Dr Qasim Raza and Saqib Raza also attended.

Dr Iqrar said access to proper food and nutrition was a basic human right; however, millions of people in the world did not have access to healthy food and water. He said this precious resource water was not infinite and we needed to stop taking it for granted and avoid irrational usage.

He said more than 40pc of the country was facing malnutrition and added that the climate change posed a serious threat to the world and it was the need of the hour to join hands to address the issue.

Dr Masood Sadiq Butt said malnutrition was the area of grave concern as it had shaped as the biggest crisis. He also said that there was need to create awareness about balanced usage of food.

Dr Imran Pasha said the UAF was the pioneer in the country to launch the Human Nutrition and Dietetics programme, which was replicated in many universities. He added that the UAF was housing the Pak Korea Nutrition Centre that was making all possible measures to curb malnutrition.

Dr Qasim Raza said the PFA had been working across all districts of the province to enforce the food hygiene and quality standards.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2023