Islamabad: Universities and colleges of Pakistan have come together to discuss Food Systems and Food Systems in Pakistani universities to develop curricula related to agriculture and food science.
National Agricultural Education Accreditation Council (NAEAC), Higher Education Commission (HEC) in collaboration with Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) organized a national consultation workshop to introduce new courses on food system reform in Pakistan.
This workshop aims to address the critical need to transform the food system into a knowledge system, especially in agriculture and food science. This initiative is part of Pakistan’s commitment to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG-2) and improve food security for vulnerable populations.
At the opening of the seminar, the chairman of the National Agricultural Education Accreditation Board (NAEAC) Prof. Fayyaz-ul Hasan Sahi said.
The role of academia and NAEAC is important to improve the understanding of food systems and transform the Food System of Pakistan. Provide high level support and technical guidance on behalf of NAEAC. Also, that the NAEAC domain will lead academic institutions to improve the curriculum and that incorporating Food Systems into the agricultural curriculum and degree programs related to food science is consistent with the NAEAC vision;
Farrah Naz, GAIN Country Director, said that
It is important to adopt a strong approach in improving the understanding of the Food System and Food System Change and the role of NAEAC, HEC and PARC and GAIN as development partners in the country to improve the environment that enables the transformation of the food system to improve Food Security.
Faiz Rasool, Head of Policy and Advocacy, GAIN, spoke about this
The main goal of the workshop was to design and implement an innovative curriculum that integrates food systems into existing undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate programs. Provide training opportunities to improve faculty skills in food system reform. Facilitate interdisciplinary research collaboration to develop evidence-based solutions to promote food system change. Promote the importance of changing the food system in higher education and beyond. Apply a robust framework to assess the impact and effectiveness of the curriculum and educational initiatives introduced.
PARC Chairman, Chief Guest, Dr. Ghulam Muhammad Ali, said that stakeholders from academia, government, non-governmental organizations and international partners were brought together to discuss the curriculum, formulate action plans and ensure alignment with national priorities. international standards.
