FAISALABAD: A joint session of parliament is imperative to discuss and take appropriate measures at the highest level to resolve the issues of food security, said Governor Punjab Salman Taseer.

Inaugurating a two-day international symposium on “Modern approaches and techniques in agriculture to enhance food security in Pakistan” at the Iqbal Auditorium here on Monday morning, he said that Pakistan was blessed with the best land, water resources and diversification of climate to meet its food requirements.

He said scientists had to play their key role in converting Pakistan into the Grain House of Asia.

He said that rapid climatic changes and depletion of natural resources were major challenges to agriculture. The governor said that Pakistan had the best irrigation system in the world although it was not being appreciated to its capacity because of the insufficient water storage capacity.

He said Pakistan was experiencing stagnation in agricultural productivity gains due to the structural issues, including poor crop management, use of low quality seed, poor agricultural infrastructure, high post-harvest losses, limited research and practical application and inadequate funding for research and development.

He said the climatic change was already causing irrevocable damage to Pakistan and the production problems would further aggravate as the country would experience the potential impacts of climate change on its agricultural production system. The governor said that UAF should launch agriculture related management courses to overcome the losses caused by the mismanagement at different stages.

Taseer urged the UAF to introduce degree courses regarding climatology to overcome the challenges of climate change.

The governor also urged speedy development of transgenic plant material in various crops, vegetable and fruits to pace up with the world and enhance agricultural production in the country.