ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is lost its wheat production target for the last three years due to the climate change effects, agricultural scientists Wednesday said, claiming that this year’s extraordinarily high temperatures in March and April damaged the wheat crop at the time of grain filling while in the previous two years, weather was cold and conducive for the wheat rust, which caused low-yield of the crop.

To feed the growing population of Pakistan where wheat is a staple food, the country would have to switch to rust, heat and drought-tolerant varieties of wheat, they said, stressing bio-fortification of wheat to address the Zinc deficiency in over 50 million people of Pakistan where food insecurity is increasing every year.

“Research institutions in Pakistan have developed rust-resistant varieties of wheat which are also helpful in overcoming micronutrient deficiencies as they are Zinc bio-fortified. There is a need to create awareness among our growers and farmers to switch to these newly developed, tough wheat varieties to withstand the effects of climate change and provide better nutrition to our people”, Dr Imtiaz Hussain, a scientist associated with Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) told an awareness workshop.

The workshop was organized by HarvestPlus and AGAHE, a civil society organization, which was attended by a large number of agriculture scientists, health professionals, experts of UN agencies, civil society, and digital and print media dignitaries.

The agricultural scientist maintained that wheat constitutes over 70% of the diet of common Pakistanis and bio-fortification wheat is the most suitable, cost-effective, and sustainable strategy for addressing Zinc deficiency.
“With the support of harvest plus, federal and provincial wheat programs have developed three wheat varieties including Zincol 2016, Akbar 2019, and Nawab 2021.

Original Link: https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1015574-pakistan-missing-wheat-production-target-due-to-climate-change-agri-scientists