Sustainable Agriculture Policy
Climate Change
Hunger
Dr. Abid Qaiyum
Suleri
Sustainable Development Policy
Institute
Islamabad, Pakistan
Non Sustainable CP
- High population growth (185 million)
increased resource demand—energy exhaustive production;
increased input for HRV; non sustainable extraction of ground
water
- Subsistence agriculture farm poverty
- Urbanization, peri urbanization, deforestation
- Monsoon, floods, droughts, water scarcity, sea water
intrusion
most significant climatic event in region (70% of annual
precipitation in 3 month’s period)
- Solid waste management
- Energy (77% thermal)
- Glacial Melting
Floods and drought
- International Trade: Eco dumping
IPCC last report acknowledged
that
–
"there are considerable
evidences to suggest that
human activities are
responsible for climate
change.
• Socio-economic issues
should also be given
preference.
Climate Change-Agriculture Linkages
-
Rise in temperature
Changed rainfall patterns
Seasonal extremes and variations
Glacial melting
Floods
Sea Water Intrusion
Agriculture-Climate Change Linkages
- Energy exhaustive food production
- Increased input for high responsive varieties
- Non sustainable extraction of ground water
- Increased financial resources
• Agriculture is at the nexus of three of the
greatest challenges of the 21st century –
– achieving food security
– adapting to climate change, and
– mitigating climate change
while critical resources such as water, energy and
land become increasingly scarce
(CGIAR,2012)
Two important challenges!!
• To Ensure Food Secure Pakistan
– 80 million Hungry and malnourished population
– Increase in food production and productivity
– Income diversification
• Adapting to climate change
– Strengthen resilience and coping mechanism for
growing population and unsustainable resource use
– Sustainable agriculture, especially for low and
marginalized areas for more food supply and
reduction in environmental damages
Hunger in Pakistan
 Malnourished in Pakistan increased to 35 Million during 2010-12 from 30
Million during 1990-92 (FAO, 2011-12).
 Global Hunger index (GHI) 2012, Pakistan stands at position 57 in the list
of 79 countries
 Child Development Index (CDI) 2012 places Pakistan at number 120
among the 140 nations
 Global Food Security Index 2012’ Pakistan at number 75, among 105
countries, with a score of 38.5/100 (The Economist, 2012)
 The National Nutrition Survey 2011 for Pakistan:
food insecure population has increased by 12 million since 2006
severely food insecure population has risen from 9.6 million to 45.3
million that is 28% of the population
 In 2008 almost 51% of the population (72 million) survived at less than
2100 calories per day (NATIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY, 2012)
Why sustainable agriculture?
• Agriculture sector in Pakistan is main source
of livelihoods
• Sustainable agriculture growth is essential not
only for sustainable food production but also
to increase access and absorption of food by
increasing incomes
• Agro-based GHG emissions can be mitigate by
itself -agriculture adaptations techniques and
methods
Uncertainties in Sustainable agriculture
development and climate change to
achieve food security
• How much and at what scale climate change in diverse
climatic regions in Pakistan will affect agricultural
productivity?
• How climate-compatible approaches be used and
incorporated in agriculture development goals for food
security and sustainable agriculture?
• What are the bottlenecks of capacity, financial resources,
technology, political, institutional and economic policies
that hinder in scaling-up climate-compatible to
marginalized poor and most vulnerable? ‘Identification of
hotspots’ where threats are higher
Knowledge Generation and
Dissemination
• Need for national agriculture policy integrating
food security issues and sustainable agriculture
Decision support systems
Integrate information about land use and land
change, food production, climate,
demographics, and ecology etc. for proper and
informed decisions.
Priority setting
Individual Security?
National Security?
Regional Security?
Global Security
Their interconnectedness makes it difficult to address the security
of state if security at one of the other levels has been
compromised. Ignoring SA is increasing individual securities.
Policy led vulnerabilities that
reduces our resilience