By Qudsia Bano ISLAMABAD, May 30 (INP-WealthPK): The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is working in Pakistan on a variety of development and humanitarian projects. These projects are supported by organization finances, bilateral and international assistance organizations, and governments, notably the Pakistan government. Tariq Bashir Cheema, Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research, welcomed a group from the FAO led by Ms Florence Rolle last week. The minister said agriculture is of essential importance for Pakistan, and the FAO can help improve the agriculture business. He praised the FAO's work in Pakistan and pledged his full support and cooperation for all projects. He stated that Pakistan faces numerous obstacles, but these challenges may be turned into opportunities for the country with strong resolve. Climate change and agriculture, according to Tariq Bashir Cheema, are inextricably intertwined, and both must be tackled as a whole. The FAO, according to Ms Florence, is working tirelessly to assist the government with policy formulation and knowledge management. She informed the minister that the FAO is in charge of 35 agricultural projects totalling $170 million. She volunteered to prepare a full briefing for each project's minister. The largest project, according to Florence, is worth $45 million. The FAO Pakistan Country Programming Framework (CPF) 2018-2022 outlines the FAO's development priorities in Pakistan. Zero Hunger: healthy, safe, and nutritious food for all, climate-wise resilient agriculture, and sustainable eco-systems including forests, fisheries, livestock, rangeland, and water management, as well as inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems, are the three priority areas of the CPF. The FAO will support the evaluation, development, and implementation of national and provincial nutrition and gender-sensitive agriculture policies, frameworks, strategies, and guidelines to help Pakistan build an enabling environment for long-term agricultural development. Emphasis will be put on building stakeholders' capacity for better agriculture sector governance, cross-sectoral cooperation, and technical assistance for evidence-based policymaking. During the CPF's implementation era, major national and provincial government ministries' institutional capacities would be reinforced in policy procedures. The FAO will use its national and international expertise to help the government agriculture departments, national, provincial, and district disaster management authorities, family farmers, and livestock keepers anticipate and respond to factors that affect food security and nutrition by providing training in agro-ecology, climate-resilient agriculture, water-smart initiatives, DRR/DRM (disaster risk reduction and disaster risk management) strategies, and livestock disease prevention and control. Vulnerable farmers' resilience and government capacity to assist communities in adapting to climate change would be enhanced. The FAO will establish and expand risk transfer mechanisms, including crop and livestock insurance schemes and access to financial institutions at the district and provincial levels to streamline social protection systems. Sustainable forest and rangeland management will be supported by strengthened policies and pilot initiatives to adopt innovative approaches to forest management and restoration while enhancing local livelihoods, personnel capacity building, and stakeholder awareness-raising from the community to decision-makers in order to promote and develop key eco-systems.