Executive Director of CropLife Asia Dr. Siang Hee Tan has said that Pakistani farmers need technology instead of subsidy to get enhanced productivity and thus improvement in living standard with increased income.
“Pakistan requires science-based, and predictable regulatory regime that would enable them to reap benefits of modern technology,” Dr. Siang said while talking to media in Lahore.
CropLife Asia is a global initiative to ensure sustainability of agriculture. Dr. Hee is currently visiting Pakistan on an invitation from CropLife Pakistan Association and will be meeting with key policy-makers, regulators, government officials, industry and the scientific community.
Dr. Hee praised the government of Pakistan’s vision and policy-position on technology adoption, especially relating to biotechnology. He said: “The establishment of more than thirty biotechnology research institutions was a testament to the Government’s commitment towards promoting biotech crop solutions”.
He said, “Growing population, climate change, scarcity of water and changing lifestyles continue to pose challenges to our food security. In order to address this emergent challenge, we need to promote sustainable means to grow food and embrace technological innovations that enable the same”.
Based in Singapore, CropLife Asia is operating in 91 countries with generous support from prestigious global enterprises like; Bayer, Monsanto, Dupont, Syngenta, etc. This global federation nurtures technological solutions to enrich the plant-science industry in pursuit of sustainability in agriculture, while it advocates international developments for crop-protection, seeds and agricultural biotechnology. Its innovative approach is protecting the interests of farmers, governments, consumers and the environment.
While sharing his assessment of the present regulatory environment in Pakistan, Dr. Hee emphasized the importance of an independent, science-based, transparent and predictable regulatory regime that would enable farmers to fully reap its benefits.
Dr. Hee also urged regulators to develop better synergies with their international counterparts and benefit from knowledge-sharing through data-transportability arrangements.
The best-practices being adopted across the Asia region include; allocation of adequate resources for staffing and capacity-building of regulatory bodies, along with the deployment of modern agriculture technologies and progressive-farming methods. Rules and processes are being made more conducive to agricultural growth, through close consultation with the experts of this sector.
CropLife Pakistan association established in 1968 is the voice and advocate of the plant science industry in Pakistan. As the industry’s peak body, CropLife Pakistan protects the interests of member companies by engaging with decision makers and other stakeholders at the right platforms.
Source: https://pakobserver.net/pakistani-farmers-need-technology-instead-subsidy/