Rich countries must announce debt relief for poor countries: PM Imran
He said over 100 million children have been suffering from malnutrition across the globe.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that the world population will soon reach 8 billion and more than 20 countries in the world have been facing food shortage.
Addressing the International Fund for Agricultural Development through video link on Wednesday, he said that agriculture is a basic requirement for human survival, adding that over 100 million children have been suffering from malnutrition.
The prime minister said that the world was facing many challenges in dealing with coronavirus, adding that either we would all end or we would overcome the challenges together.
He said that he had launched a campaign for loan concessions for poor countries affected by the pandemic.
“Poor countries need economic stability to come out of the Covid-19 crisis and the rich countries should make announcement for debt relaxation for poor countries,” he added.
Imran Khan called for investing in sustainable agriculture development, ensuring adequate and fair prices of food products, applying new technologies and rethinking patterns of food consumption and production.
“I further propose that a new strategy for sustainable food production and consumption should be considered and adopted at the Food Systems Summit next year,” Imran Khan said.
He also shared with participants Pakistan’s experiences and efforts to mitigate the sufferings of poor people including the historic US$ 8 billion relief package given by his government during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The prime minister while proposing the five-point agenda to end poverty and hunger, said firstly they ought to invest in sustainable agriculture infrastructure – for facilitating transport, production and distribution of agricultural inputs and food products.
The “Green Lanes” created by China was a good example,” he added.
Secondly, he said, the governments needed to more actively ensure adequate and fair prices for agricultural and food products. The so-called “magic of the market place” should be balanced by the very visible hand of the State, he added.
The prime minister said,” We in Pakistan have suffered from market manipulations by monopolists and hoarders.”
“Farmers should not be left to the mercy of the corporations. At the same time, international agricultural trade must be rationalized. The huge agricultural subsidies provided by certain richer economies distort global markets and make it impossible for farmers in the developing countries to compete,” he remarked.
Thirdly, Imran Khan said, the new and breakthrough agricultural technologies and techniques must be consciously applied to enhance food production; ensure efficient usage of water and land; and above all improve seed quality.
IFAD and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) could play a major role in that context, he added.
Fourthly, the prime minister said the adoption of digital technologies was as vital in agriculture as in other economic sectors. Ensuring internet and broadband access to the rural areas would be vital for their integration into national and global supply chains, he added.
“Fifth, and perhaps the most important, we must re-think our patterns of food consumption and production. We can eat better and many of us would do well to eat less. We can produce food with greater respect for Nature. We can stop the pollution of our lakes, rivers and oceans. We can produce more with less water, and without dangerous chemicals,” he maintained.
