Multan:A two-day international conference on Climate Smart Agriculture was held in Multan from 26 to 27 November. The conference, hosted by the MNS University Multan in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), was on the theme “The way towards Sustainability” and brought together a panel of seven global and ten national experts to discuss climate smart agriculture innovations.
Pakistan ranks 135th in the world for GHG emissions and also falls in top 10 countries most vulnerable to climate change. During the past two decades, the country faced the effects of weather extremes, such as devastating floods (2010 and 2014), drought (1998-2002), heat waves, cyclones, smog and temperature extremes. It is imperative that recent technologies are adopted to develop climate smart farming systems and agricultural approaches in the country to achieve sustainable production and food security.
The conference is a step to create awareness, capacity building, and knowledge transfer to address and cope with climate change challenges. The panelists discussed and identified Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) as an emerging science and innovation practice, providing resilience to farming systems against negative impacts of climate change.
Nine themes were discussed during the event including Climate Smart Management of Surface and Ground Water, Climate Smart Soil and Fertilizer Management, Global Warming Impacts and Mitigation, and Climate Smart Farming Systems. The conference aimed to assess the scientific knowledge and capacity to adopt climate smart agriculture; opportunities and options for the success of CSA under the current scenarios. It was also to create awareness among the masses about climate change impacts on sustainability of agriculture farming systems, and to build academic and stakeholders’ networks and linkages with national and international scientists for future collaborations.
Giving an overview of the conference, FAO Representative in Pakistan Mina Dowlatchahi said, “This is an excellent opportunity for knowledge exchange for long term sustainable climate development of agriculture and food systems in Pakistan, and to look at agriculture as an integrated natural resources and socioeconomic ecosystem. The conference will help identify localized options for climate smart agriculture and water practices adapted for small holder farmers, men and women, to build their resilience, sustainability, and improve food security, nutrition and local economy.”
Vice Chancellor MNS Agriculture University Dr. Asif Ali said that the two day conference will present numerous articles, which will help policy makers, scientists, and the farming community to make better decisions in the light of the changing weather patterns due to climate change.