KARACHI: A prominent scientist and academician Prof. Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman has urged Karachi to urgently adopt vertical farming, as a way of addressing food insecurity and weather related challenges. In a mini-symposium on “Sustainable Agriculture to Food and Nutritional Security in the Climate Change Scenario” held at the University of Karachi, he emphasised the concept of urban agriculture and the production of drought-tolerant crops.
He pointed out that the practice of vertical farming and a controlled environment agriculture (CEA) would be able to supply fresh food in even small urban areas including rooftops and can be used as a sustainable practice in a city with water shortages and extreme conditions like Karachi.
The symposium was held under the arrangements of the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) with cooperation to Sindh Innovation, Research, and Education Network (SIREN).
Prof. Atta made reference to the increased value of climatic resistant crops with the global market expected to be worth 52 billion dollars in 2032. Global hunger and food insecurity in OIC countries were also brought up as an issue by other speakers such as Prof. Iqbal Choudhary and Prof. Raza Shah.
Saudi Arabian and Pakistani experts exchanged the findings, ideologies, and approaches that will allow achieving the food security through sustainable agriculture.
