Patron Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders Shahid Rasheed Butt on Sunday said farmers’ package will benefit wheat farmers if proper procedure was adopted for purchase of crop.
It will benefit country if export of surplus wheat is ensured while remaining stock is properly stored saving it for a long time, he said.
Shahid Rasheed Butt said that saving agricultural production from wastage will reduce food security problems from which over half of the population is suffering.
He said that wastage of agricultural products have touched alarming proportions which require joint action.
Thirty-three percent of the world’s four billion tonnes of agricultural production is wasted because of weakness of infrastructure, storage facilities and faulty distribution system.
He said that wastage of 1.5 billion tonnes of agricultural products worth 750 billion dollars also waste all the inputs including 550 billion cubic feet of water.
He said that on average American and European consumers through half of the food in waste bin without using it while one billion people in developing world are underfed.
US population wastes 40 percent of the food worth 165 billion in one year while 21 million tonnes of wheat which is equal to total production of Australia is wasted in India while over three million tonnes of wheat or 16 percent of the production is wasted in Pakistan.
Global population will grow by three billion people by the end of this century which can be only tackled if all the world unites and stop wastage of agricultural products and food.