University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan has said that food diversification was imperative to fight against the menace of malnutrition.
University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan has said that food diversification was imperative to fight against the menace of malnutrition.
He was addressed the 1st International Pak-Korea Nutrition Centre (PKNC) conference on “Nutrition and Public Health for Developing Economies and Sustainable Solutions,” organised by PKNC and National Institute of Food Science and Technology, UAF.
Dr Iqrar said that amid the situation of massive malnutrition which was hitting 40 per cent population of the country, it was prerequisite to sensitise the people about food diversification, healthy food, changing lifestyle, promote maize-wheat flour and indigenous solutions to overcome hidden hunger.
He said that Pakistan had need of 30 million tons of wheat to feed its entire population whereas the country was producing 27 million tons wheat. “We can fulfill the demand if we mix 15 per cent maize in the wheat”, he said, adding that it would not only slash wheat import but also improve health of the people.
He said that per acre production of wheat had been facing stagnant for the last many years whereas per acre maize productivity had gone up to manifolds. Therefore, we should take the issue of malnutrition seriously and use maize to overcome the menace, he added.
He also expressed concern about the habit of going to school without breakfast and said that this habit was dangerous for growth of the youth, besides reducing their efficiency in studies. He urged the parents to focus on the issue seriously and ensure breakfast to their kids in the morning.
Dr Jaehan Kim from Chungnam National University Korea said that there was a low accessibility of nutritional information in the community.
He said that PKNC funded by Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) would train 35 master trainers, 36,000 local nutrition specialists including school teachers, lady heath worker and 36,000 local community members.
Director KOICA Je Ho Yeon, Dean Faculty of Food Nutrition and Home Sciences Prof Dr Masood Sadiq Butt, Dr Basma Elahi from UK, Major General (retd) Masud-ur-Rehman Kiani, Director General NIFSAT Dr Imran Pasha, Dr Benish Israr and Dr Benish Sarwar also spoke in the conference and stressed the need of adopting healthy lifestyle. – APP