Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Thursday that food security has become a matter of national security for Pakistan.
The prime minister, in his address to the National Kissan Convention in Islamabad, said that Pakistan’s “biggest challenge” in the years to come will be that of food security.
To explain the precise nature of the problem, he explained to the audience that Pakistan had to import 4 million tonnes of wheat last year alone to meet a shortfall.
“The expense of that was paid in foreign exchange, in a country that is already short of dollars,” remarked PM Imran Khan.
He added that it was unsustainable for the country to keep on going like this.
“The rate at which our population is increasing [we need to ask] in the next 10, 15 years how will we create food for our population?” said the premier.
The premier said that it was necessary to raise awareness about food security and that Pakistan should start taking measures to tackle the problem from today.
“If we want to save our nation from the challenges ahead [we need to see that] food security in reality [has become] national security,” said PM Imran Khan.
To further highlight the problem, the prime minister said that the situation is so dire that kids in the country are born stunted.
“Close to 40% of babies in our country are stunted because their diet is not complete. This is a very dangerous figure,” said the PM.
The premier said to tackle the problem, the government is launching a nutrition programme under the Ehsaas programme.
The plan will focus on ensuring that the diet of children till the age of three is complete so they are not stunted.
The premier said that if they remain stunted then the children will be “left behind in the race of life as their brain and body will not be developed”.
PM Imran Khan further said that children in the country are not getting proper milk as it is “contaminated”.
“[Just] think, our kids are not getting pure milk and that is their most basic need for growth,” said PM Imran Khan. He also said that when the government further investigated the problem, it found that the cows in Pakistan were producing lesser milk than those in other countries.
The prime minister said that the government then realised that it was because the country never worked on improving the genes of the cows. He added that it was all because of the “elite capture”.
Elaborating further, he said that a small section of the society “captured” the country when it was created.
The premier said to tackle the problem, the government is launching a nutrition programme under the Ehsaas programme.
The plan will focus on ensuring that the diet of children till the age of three is complete so they are not stunted.
The premier said that if they remain stunted then the children will be “left behind in the race of life as their brain and body will not be developed”.
PM Imran Khan further said that children in the country are not getting proper milk as it is “contaminated”.
“[Just] think, our kids are not getting pure milk and that is their most basic need for growth,” said PM Imran Khan. He also said that when the government further investigated the problem, it found that the cows in Pakistan were producing lesser milk than those in other countries.
The prime minister said that the government then realised that it was because the country never worked on improving the genes of the cows. He added that it was all because of the “elite capture”.
Elaborating further, he said that a small section of the society “captured” the country when it was created.