Lahore, July 27: Punjab Planning and Development (P&D) in collaboration with World Food Programme Pakistan (WFP) organised the Sustainable Development Goal-2 (SDG-2) “Call to Action event” in Lahore .
In his talk at the event, Mr Nasar Hayat, Assistant FAO Representative (Programs) said:
“FAO is indeed honoured to be a part of this “Call to Action Event” on SGD 2 in Punjab because FAO has dedicated itself to three of the biggest, interlinked challenges of the SDGs: ending extreme poverty, hunger and malnutrition; promoting sustainable agriculture, and sustainable use of biodiversity and natural resources for development; and combatting and fostering resilience to climate change.”

He also said that FAO supports the initiative through technical assistance to Agriculture and Livestock Departments to conduct background analyses as well as project design. He told participants that FAO is also working on promoting sustainable increase of productivity of farms through an intervention on Soil Fertility Management. Our work with the Punjab Fisheries Department is focussed on increasing the production of fish farmers in a sustainable manner and improving diet diversification of the people of the province. In addition, FAO is supporting the Livestock Department in helping poor livestock farmers to improve animal health and hence production therefore contributing to their household consumption of nutritious food as well as their incomes.

Efforts to integrate climate smart approaches with transformative impact need to continue and be scaled up. FAO is supporting the government of Pakistan – in which Punjab will be an important component – in preparation of a proposal on Climate Smart Agriculture to address water scarcity and climate change, to improve water efficiency and contribute to the related SDG indicators on water stress/water efficiency.
Mr Neil Buhne, UN Residential Coordinator Pakistan appreciated the Punjab government’s efforts and expressed UN’s commitment towards SDG-2 attainment – with particular focus on Mother & Child Nutrition. He expressed his support for Punjab’s all future endeavours, and appreciated member’s (Health, Nutrition & Population) efforts in making nutrition a priority in Punjab.
The aim of the event was to gather all key stakeholders and create awareness amongst all relevant sectors regarding SDG-2 goal, its targets and its inclusion in provincial policies development.