ISLAMABAD: Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Islamabad Renate Pors on Sunday said that every five seconds, a baby dies of malnutrition and one billion people go to bed hungry every day.
During interaction with different stakeholders in agriculture and food security along with the visiting agricultural researcher from Netherlands Romke Wustman, she explained the context of the public diplomacy initiative and the Netherlands’ commitment to food security, one of the main global challenges today, said a press release here.
Romke Wustman visited Pakistan at the invitation of the Embassy of Netherlands to share his knowledge of latest technologies and solutions, challenges and opportunities in the food security sector.
Having retired from Wageningen University and Research Centre last year, Wustman is now part of the PUM Netherlands Senior Experts.
PUM is a non-profit organization, which links businesses in developing countries to retire Dutch professionals.
These senior experts provide businesses with required knowledge and experience.
It has a network of around 3,200 volunteers in 80 sectors of industry where the Dutch have expertise. During his visit, Wustman met with academia, researchers, private sector representatives and farmers – all the stakeholders who are important in the agricultural chain.
He also discussed in details various topics in different meetings particularly the potato crop since he had expertise in potato production.
He also addressed seminars at the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council and Lahore University of Management Sciences focusing on Potato Seed: Challenges and Opportunities and identified possible scenarios through which Pakistan could improve the quality of seed.
The seminars at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University and the Faisalabad Agriculture University addressed the issues of food security and need for good agricultural practices in crop production.
During discussions with the Chambers of Commerce in Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and Lahore, Romke Wustman highlighted the role the private sector could play in the agricultural value chain and the various business opportunities in improved systems, technologies and value addition.
He also met with Farmers Associates of Pakistan and the Green Circle Organisation to brainstorm on the specific concerns of the farmers.
The Netherlands is a small country with a population of 17 million but it produces sufficient food for 70 million. It is also the second largest food exporter in the world. The country has a highly productive agricultural sector and considerable expertise in agrarian technologies and solutions and the seminars and meetings with the Dutch expert were a way of sharing that expertise with Pakistani stakeholders.
