A quarter of humanity faces extreme water stress
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00:00 Today is World Food Day
00:05 and there are many concerns about it
00:07 I will tell you that in the world
00:09 900 million tons of food is wasted every year
00:12 and the numbers that have come out of this
00:14 60% of the food is wasted in homes
00:18 In our minds, this would have happened in restaurants and hotels
00:22 but food is wasted more in homes
00:24 and in Pakistan, 4 billion dollars worth of food is wasted every year
00:27 Think about it, we have just rubbed our backs for 3 billion dollars from IMF
00:33 They have made us pull lines with our nails
00:36 but here we are ourselves wasting 4 billion dollars worth of food
00:39 Ok, there are many issues, let's talk about them
00:42 what are the challenges
00:44 We have with us Food Scientist Dr. Talat Naseem Pasha
00:47 Thank you so much for joining us sir
00:49 Basically, I would like to know from you
00:52 what are our concerns
00:54 The world population is increasing rapidly
00:57 The food is becoming less
01:00 The land is becoming less
01:03 One issue is that we have to grow food
01:06 We have to fulfill the world's demand for food
01:10 and the second issue is that the food that is already available
01:14 is not available to everyone
01:16 and those who have it are wasting it
01:18 Overall, all these things are so challenging
01:21 Thank you so much for inviting me online
01:24 World Food Day is every year on 16th October
01:28 The UN Food and Agriculture Organization
01:32 has a campaign throughout the world
01:37 to create awareness
01:39 like you mentioned about food wastage
01:42 and food availability
01:44 Unfortunately, we are an agricultural country
01:48 and the situation of our young generation
01:52 is of stunting, malnutrition
01:55 and food wastage
01:57 I would like to tell you a little about it
01:59 Our agriculture technology and machinery
02:02 15-16% of wheat is wasted in the field
02:08 and then it is brought to the warehouse
02:11 and then the warehouse is not of the world standard
02:15 where you can monitor the temperature
02:19 and can do moisture testing
02:22 So much wheat is wasted in the warehouse
02:25 This is a big dilemma
02:28 and along with that, our vegetables and fruits
02:32 have 30% plus wastage
02:34 Proper packing and storage of those facilities are not there
02:38 This is a serious issue
02:41 and unfortunately, every third child is malnourished
02:49 and has issues of stunting
02:52 and this year's motto of World Food Day is
02:59 Water is life and water is food
03:02 So the availability of clean water
03:06 which is a basic nutrient of our soil
03:10 is also not available
03:13 Tell me one thing
03:15 Water is a very contributing factor
03:18 and there is a lot of talk about hybrid seeds
03:22 that if we grow them, the yield will increase
03:26 Russia is doing the opposite
03:29 Vladimir Putin has told everyone
03:32 that if someone goes to the hybrid side
03:34 then the crops will be harvested
03:36 because in the longer run, it damages the soil
03:39 and affects the capacity of the seed
03:42 if you don't use the same seed again
03:44 This is also a concern related to the food
03:46 This is a controversy
03:50 Hybrid seeds are a crop of maize
03:55 and we harvest two crops a year
03:59 and the yield is between 100 to 130 months
04:03 and that is because of hybrid seeds
04:05 Seed is highly important
04:07 and there is a lot of improvement in genomics
04:10 and other latest technologies
04:12 and it is being used world over
04:15 and there are no biodefects
04:19 and these are tested things
04:22 We have to go for hybrid seeds
04:24 and the latest technology
04:27 and on top of that we have to go for climate smart agriculture
04:32 We are facing in the top 5 countries
04:38 where climate is being affected
04:41 and in our flood irrigation system
04:45 we waste a lot of water
04:47 and we have to plant more seeds
04:51 so we have to take agriculture technology
04:54 to the climate resilience level
04:59 You are saying that we have to manage things like this
05:02 We have a lot of waste
05:04 and things get damaged
05:07 but we don't send them to the people
05:09 and we don't do it at a cheap price
05:11 which they have thought of
05:13 and this is a factor
05:15 Thank you so much Dr. Talat for being with us
05:17 and we have to work on a lot of fundamental issues
05:21 Yes, we have to work on it