Online
Islamabad
Without ensuring the food security and improving productivity ,the country cannot excel in agriculture sector , which is backbone of national economy. The speakers said this during a workshop on value added agriculture, on Monday here , which was organized by National Productivity Organization(NPO) in collaboration with the Asian Productivity Organization, Japan has organized. Objective of this workshop is to introduce the latest innovative trends, technologies and branding techniques used globally for value-added agriculture.
International experts from Malaysia and Sri Lanka along with renowned local experts having decades of experience in agriculture are brought onboard to conduct the workshop, share their experiences and inculcate knowledge to the participants.
APO ATF emphasize that food security and public health have a direct correlation and are important indicators of the quality of life in a country, while reflecting its economic development status. Economic access to a healthy diet is a key parameter indicating the overall status of a society, and the affordability of quality food, as well as other aspects of food safety and sufficiency, is an indicator of the status of the agriculture sector and its efficiency. Demand for food will continue to grow in the Asia-Pacific region, where more than 4.3 billion of the 7.7 billion world population resides. It is important to note that the global population is predicted to reach nine billion by 2050, with Asia continuing to be home to more than half of that.
Prospective population statistics mean that the world will need to produce at least 70% more food to sustain the growing population. Unfortunately, the availability of critical natural resources such as land and water for agricultural and food production has been declining at a steady pace in most APO member countries. This widening gap between food demand and the natural resources available to support agriculture, climate change and extreme weather conditions, and social issues like changing rural demographics and aging populations pose a serious threat to future food security.
Hence it is imperative for policymakers and planners, farmers, and businesses to embrace modern technologies at all levels for smart agriculture processes and management. By using technology as a sustainable, scalable resource, agriculture can be transformed into a future-proof industry including productive, sustainable food value chains.
Innovation focuses on improving existing processes, procedures, products and services or creating new ones. Often, successful value-added ideas focus on very narrow, highly technical, geographically large markets where competition is sparse. Innovative value-added activities developed on farms or at agricultural experiment stations are sources of national growth through changes either in the kind of product or in the technology of production. By encouraging innovative ideas, adding value becomes a reality.
Abdul Ghaffar Khattak, Chief Executive Officer, NPO, while sharing his views with media, appreciated efforts of the Asian Productivity Organization, Japan, which has been working for productivity enhancement in the Asia Pacific since 1961. He highlighted smart transformation initiatives of APO for agriculture, industry and service sectors in its member economies. The APO has conducted numerous projects for the development of agriculture sector in its member countries. One such recent initiative is development of Smart Agricultural Transformation Framework (ATF) for the APO Member economies which aims to serve as a useful reference and enable member countries to take the next step and develop their country specific ATF.
