ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) in collaboration with Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday organized a workshop on promoting climate-smart agricultural research in Pakistan.
The event brought together participants from various national and international research organizations, said a press release issued here.
Addressing the workshop, Chairman PARC, Dr Ghulam Muhammad Ali, reiterated that climate smart agriculture research is crucial in addressing the challenges posed by rapidly changing climatic conditions and to ensure sustainable food production and agricultural resilience.
He underscored the importance of engaging with international institutions and experts to leverage their knowledge and experiences for the benefit of agricultural research in the region.
Representative of ADB Noriko Sato, provided an overview of ADB’s initiatives in Pakistan and presented insights on climate change impacts including temperature variations, crop damage from floods, and green-house gas emissio
ns.
The discussions also encompassed potential solutions to mitigate these emissions, such as promoting low-carbon rice cultivation and developing climate-resilient and drought-tolerant crop varieties.
Dr Ruben Lampayan, ADB consultant highlighted the inefficiencies in water usage in rice cultivation and emphasized the adoption of water conservation techniques, Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) practices, and other effective water management technologies to enhance rice production while minimizing water consumption.
Senior Specialist, Dr Krishna Dev Joshi highlighted the importance of the delivery of climate smart crop varieties to transform agri-food system of Pakistan and to address the challenges of climate change and ensure food security in the country.
Climate Change specialist, Dr Hiz Jamali emphasized that low water productivity in rice poses a significant challenge to sustainable agriculture practices in Pakistan, exacerbated by key climate challenges such as water scarcity, unusual rainfall patt
erns, and rising temperatures impacting crop yields.
Director Water Institute NARC, Dr. Bashir Ahmed, and Director NIGAB, Dr. Shaukat Ali shared insights on success stories by PARC on climate smart agriculture in Pakistan enhancing water productivity in rice, developing climate-resilient crop varieties, addressing climate change implications on water availability, and tackling key climate challenges in country’s agriculture sector.