The International Symposium “Climate Smart Sustainable Rice- Wheat Production System” was held at the Faculty of Agriculture, Punjab university cooperation with COMSTECH, UPSIGN, SAWIE, SACAN & Dawood Agro. The keynote talks of eminent scientists emphasized design policies, indigenous farming solutions, and how to better manage the most important resource of soil and water to address the climate change crisis. Prof Shahid Munir inaugurated the symposium saying that Food security is strategically important for Pakistan to feed its growing population, and the research and industry linkages could play a vital role in developing new technologies and promoting farmers to enhance their yield under the changing climatic conditions. The per capita annual water availability in Pakistan has dropped to 1,017 cubic meters from 5300 in 1947 and may lead to absolute water scarcity by 2025. This will result in severe water shortages for the next generation of farmers. Future water requirements and challenges impose a serious threat to Pakistan due to its agrarian economy where wheat and rice are primary food crops. There is an urgent need to develop innovative solutions for efficient and sustainable use of water, improving nutrient use efficiency, reduce the crop losses from pests & diseases both pre & post harvesting, and thus requires utmost priority in our national planning. We have seen unprecedented weather events happening this year, post-Covid -19, the extreme heat early in March, and the early monsoon affected our & food production. Pakistan will be importing 4 million tons of wheat this year to meet its food demand. This is quite an alarming situation for our nation.
