Saba Javed

Experts from OIC countries discussed techniques and strategies to resolve problems in wheat cultivation and to develop climate-resilient varieties at an ongoing meeting. A three-day event is being organized by OIC Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) in collaboration with Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) and the Islamic Organization of Food Security (IOFS) at the COMSTECH Secretariat.

The meeting is being attended by experts from Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Türkiye, Tunisia, Azerbaijan and Morocco. Other organizations working in agricultural research including Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), Assistance to States for Control of Animal Diseases (ASCAD), International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), International Center for Bio-saline Agriculture (ICBA) and CIMMYI-Int have also been invited.

On the first day of the meeting, experts presented their best practices in developing new varieties of wheat as well as techniques and strategies to solve problems in wheat cultivation. They also discussed the problems of food security in member nations of OIC especially in Afghanistan. The meeting was addressed by the Director General of IOFS Professor Yerlan Baidaulet, Coordinator General of COMSTECH Professor Iqbal Choudhary and the Chairman of PARC Dr Muhammad Ghulam Ali during its opening session on the first day.

Participants of the meeting agreed on sharing their experiences in fighting food insecurity and coordinating efforts to evolve a culture of climate-resilient agriculture. Members of the meeting agreed to develop an Action Plan on practical steps to achieve the goals of ensuring food security through the development and exchange of climate-resilient, higher yield and higher nutrition wheat crop varieties, through increased scientific cooperation and exchange of plant genetic material. OIC experts in the meeting will visit the research laboratories of the PARC on the third of the deliberation exercise.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk