The climate change, land degradation, water scarcity and genetic erosion are the biggest threats to the agriculture sector in Pakistan in general and in Sindh particular HYDERABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 02nd Feb, 2018 ):The climate change, land degradation, water scarcity and genetic erosion are the biggest threats to the agriculture sector in Pakistan in general and in Sindh particular.
This was stated by Hadi Bux Laghari, a Farm Consultant while delivering a lecture at graduate seminar on voices from the field: Climate Change Adoption in local farmers in Sindh, held on Friday at U. S.-Pakistan Centre for Advanced Studies in Water (USPCAS-W), Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (MUET) Jamshoro.
He said in recent past, the greed of maximum yields attracted the farmers to use the imported seed which did not only consume more water and pesticides but cause the genetic erosion of the soil and land degradation.
Consumption of open-cross pollination and hybrid seed production cause various diseases in the consequences of the maximum use of pesticides and fertilizers, he added.
He was of the view that the use of native seed, though has limited productivity as compared to its imported counterpart, was more beneficial in the long run not only for the health of human but also the health of the soil.
He maintained that there is a huge gap exists among the farmer community, government, academia, industry, research organizations, water and agriculture service providers in the country.
He emphasized on the integrated efforts to adopt the climate changes very efficiently and effectively in the best interests of the economy of the country and prosperity of the people.
The speaker also shared his field work for different horticulture projects including mangoes and bananas, in which he worked as a technical manager.
Among others, the Deputy Director (Academics and Research) of USPCAS-W Mehran University Prof. Dr. Rasool Bux Mahar and Assistant Professor and Academic Coordinator Muhammad Ali Nizamani also addressed the participants of the seminar.

Concerted endeavour to educate farmers on managing water resources.
Water scarcity, land degradation and the resultant low agricultural productivity that’s making young farmers averse to taking up agriculture are some of the key issues that will be addressed by a new Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project.
Indian automobile manufacturing company, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., is working with ICRISAT to address these issues in Buchinelli village, Telangana.
The launch was attended by 150 farmers, who were briefed on the objectives of the project.
The project activities include integrated water resource management through ex-situ rainwater harvesting i.e., check dams, farm ponds, revival of tanks and re-establishing drainage connectivity), in-situ moisture conservation practices and groundwater recharge system, decentralized wastewater treatment and safe use in agriculture, crop diversification from monocropping of sugarcane to other promising cropping systems with high value crops like vegetables, flowers and pulses (currently, the main rainfed crops are pigeonpea and black gram, while sugarcane is grown in the irrigated areas).
The project also comprises soil health mapping, crop and site-specific fertilizer management and introduction of high-yielding improved cultivar seeds, in addition to various other activities ranging from afforestation to women empowerment and skill development.
The NGO, Rural Education and Agriculture Development (READ) will partner with the community to form the watershed committee as well as promoting the Self-Help Groups for collective action to improve the livelihoods through integrated watershed management approach.
Mahindra & Mahindra will also support custom hiring centers for mechanizing farms to address the issues of labor shortage and cost of cultivation.
The main purpose of this collaborative initiative is to improve the livelihood of farmers through increased profits and productivity with science-led interventions.
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AfDB working with partners to accelerate implementation of drought resilience programme.
Ahead of World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, the African Development Bank (AfDB) announced that it would work with partners to accelerate the implementation of the Drought Resilience Sustainable Livelihood Support Programme (DRSLP) in the Horn of Africa.
This year’s theme examines the important link between land degradation and migration.
Among others, environmental degradation, food insecurity and poverty are causes of migration and development challenges.
The African Development Bank has several programmes in place in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa, and has provided emergency support to countries facing drought.
More coordinated support and assistance is urgently needed.
In Ethiopia and Somalia, the delegation witnessed first-hand the dire situation facing millions of displaced people in the region.
As a result of prolonged drought and conflict, a large proportion of the population in the affected countries is in need of food assistance, as families face limited access to food and income, together with low cereal and seed stocks, and low milk and meat production.
Also, the Horn of Africa region – comprising Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, and Uganda – is one of the most climate-hazard prone and food insecure regions of the world.
“The recent drought and famine facing some countries (South Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda) deserve swift action, as 20 million face food insecurity and severe malnutrition.

Climate Change, Combating Desertification and Drought, Environment, Featured, Food & Agriculture, Headlines, Humanitarian Emergencies, IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse, Middle East & North Africa, Population, Poverty & SDGs, Projects, TerraViva United Nations, Water & Sanitation This story is part of special IPS coverage of the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, observed on June 17.
This quick conclusion does not come out of the blue–the MENA region, which is home to around 400 million people, is one of the world’s most impacted areas by drought and fast advancing desertification.
What Desertification Is All About?
Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas.
“These people include many of the world‘s poorest, most marginalized and politically weak citizens.” The World Day to Combat Desertification is a unique moment to remind everyone that land degradation neutrality (LDN) is achievable through problem solving, strong community involvement and co-operation at all levels,” according to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
“Environmental degradation, political instability, food insecurity and poverty are causes of migration and development challenges.” In fact, the Bonn-based UNCCD secretariat timely reminds that in just 15 years, the number of international migrants worldwide has risen from 173 million in 2000 to 244 million in 2015.
By 2025, 1.8 billion people will experience absolute water scarcity, and two thirds of the world will be living under water-stressed conditions.
Meanwhile, UNCCD reports that the demand for water is expected to increase by 50 per cent by the year 2050.
“Drought and water scarcity are considered to be the most far-reaching of all natural disasters, causing short and long-term economic and ecological losses as well as significant secondary and tertiary impacts.” Ten Times Less Available Fresh Water Per capita availability of fresh water in the region is now 10 times less than the world average, the United Nations has recently warned.
The UN Convention to Combat Desertification Established in 1994, UNCCD is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management.

Climate Change, Combating Desertification and Drought, Editors’ Choice, Environment, Featured, Food & Agriculture, Headlines, Humanitarian Emergencies, IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse, Middle East & North Africa, Population, Poverty & SDGs, Projects, TerraViva United Nations, Water & Sanitation This story is part of special IPS coverage of the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, observed on June 17.
This quick conclusion does not come out of the blue–the MENA region, which is home to around 400 million people, is one of the world’s most impacted areas by drought and fast advancing desertification.
What Desertification Is All About?
Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas.
“These people include many of the world‘s poorest, most marginalized and politically weak citizens.” The World Day to Combat Desertification is a unique moment to remind everyone that land degradation neutrality (LDN) is achievable through problem solving, strong community involvement and co-operation at all levels,” according to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
“Environmental degradation, political instability, food insecurity and poverty are causes of migration and development challenges.” In fact, the Bonn-based UNCCD secretariat timely reminds that in just 15 years, the number of international migrants worldwide has risen from 173 million in 2000 to 244 million in 2015.
By 2025, 1.8 billion people will experience absolute water scarcity, and two thirds of the world will be living under water-stressed conditions.
Meanwhile, UNCCD reports that the demand for water is expected to increase by 50 per cent by the year 2050.
“Drought and water scarcity are considered to be the most far-reaching of all natural disasters, causing short and long-term economic and ecological losses as well as significant secondary and tertiary impacts.” Ten Times Less Available Fresh Water Per capita availability of fresh water in the region is now 10 times less than the world average, the United Nations has recently warned.
The UN Convention to Combat Desertification Established in 1994, UNCCD is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management.

Eco Foot Print programme launched at Saligao.
“Environment is a free asset we all need to protect” said Jayesh Salgaokar, minister for RDA & Housing, whilst launching the Eco Footprint project at the Goa State Remote Sensing Centre at Saligao on the occasion of World Environment Day.
He spoke of the various challenges faced by the country and Goa, related to land degradation, impacts of climate change and green house gases, water pollution and scarcity, poor sanitation conditions, sewage problems, unplanned urbanisation, forest degradation.
Salgaokar also stressed on the implementation of rain and roof water harvesting projects, beginning in Saligao Constituency and impressed upon the urgent need to replicate it across Goa, so as to recharge the ground water and mitigate water scarcity.
Joseph Rauto De Souza, the chief scientist of the Centre, while welcoming the gathering stated that over-population is a major stress and strain on natural resources.
Planting a tree is our pledge towards nurturing nature.
“Today’s digital world can largely assist in connecting people with nature, not only in Goa but across the globe through social media.
Further there is a need to augment technical skills and technical know-how to enforce various environmental legislations and laws in protecting the environment,” he said.
Fr Bolmax Pereira, research scholar, in his speech implied that India has often been described as a rich land with poor people.
“Environment degradation has adversely affected the poor who largely depend upon the resources of their immediate surroundings for their sustainability,” he said, further stressing upon need to rationalise the use of groundwater and control of water draining into the sea.

#GreenMondaySA: Eat less meat, save the world.
Animal agriculture is one of the largest contributors to the world’s most serious environmental problems including climate change, water scarcity, and land degradation.
I’ve only been doing this for three weeks so far, so yeah, let’s check in at a later stage, but so far so good.
Ironically, Saucisse Deli specialises in fine meat and cheese, yet with Head Chef Amanda at the helm, the deli really strives to be as environmentally friendly as possible.
<img src="http://c.biz-file.com/c/1704/387141.jpg" alt="#GreenMondaySA: Eat less meat, save the world" width="625" height="352"> You can see more of the local restaurants and companies involved in Green Monday here.
Why is Green Monday important?
Green Monday also addresses some of the world’s most serious environmental problems.
Perhaps our generation can continue to gorge on meat and dairy, but this way of producing and eating is just not sustainable – #fact.
Future generations are going to have some serious environmental issues if we continue to blindly ignore the damage the agricultural industry creates and not try and address it by changing our mindset and diet.
<img src="http://c.biz-file.com/c/1704/387145.jpg" alt="#GreenMondaySA: Eat less meat, save the world" width="625" height="498"> For more info about Green Monday or to take the pledge and join the movement, go to: greenmonday.co.za.

Under the Radar: Sri Lanka’s drought threatens credit downgrade.
With around half of national rice paddy acreage affected (1.5 million acres), the cost of this effort will account for between 0.1 and 0.2% of GDP; this does not include relief efforts for other crops.
In order to combat food shortages, the government has accepted food and water aid from India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Thailand as well as increased food imports.
To encourage imports Sri Lanka has cut import taxes on rice from 15 to 5 rupees per kilo.
Another issue are the government price controls on rice which, while fixing prices between Rs 70 and Rs 80 per kilo of various types of rice, risks unrest.
Having purchased rice at higher wholesale prices prior to pricing limits, millers are now being forced to sell at a loss.
On February 13th, some 120 leading millers refused to sell at government prices, calling for between Rs 80 to Rs 90 per kilo, and demanding to meet with President Maithripala Sirisena.
The drought has also led to an energy crisis in Sri Lanka, as reservoirs are only at 29% capacity.
The effects of the drought have derailed Sri Lanka’s efforts to tackle systemic overspending, with the government projecting a 17% increase in spending, versus a 0.6% increase in 2016.
As a result the drought is hampering Sri Lanka’s efforts to reduce the budget deficit to 4.6% – a key goal of the country’s $1.5 billion IMF loan.