‘Time for Punjab to take the lead in fixing food system’

CHANDIGARH :Local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu said, on Friday, that the next generation is sure to be impacted by environmental issues prevailing at present and to avoid the perils of leaving behind a dilapidated ecological system, caring about the environment needed to be turned into a mass movement.

Addressing the 3rd National Dialogue on Himalayan Ecology organised by Dialogue Highway, an intellectual group, Sidhu said, “Awareness about environmental issues needs to be spread around the world. We need active participation of people.” The two-day workshop is titled, ‘Measuring the Economics of Food and Agriculture Ecosystems’.

Sidhu also gave a clarion call to citizens to make efforts at their own level, too, by planting more trees and ensuring that ecological balance was kept intact. He also said that the next battles would be fought over water and other aspects related to environment.

The minister also announced a purse of ₹5 lakh for an environmental cause every year, till he held office.

‘NEED TO REBUILD AGRI ECOSYSTEM’

In his address, chief trustee of Dialogue Highway, Devinder Sharma, an agriculture expert, expressed grave concern over the degrading environment. “The environment is in complete disarray and is on the verge of destruction with groundwater level also going down. All stakeholders must work in unison to save the environment and, as subsequently, the human race.”

Sharma added that there was dire need of redesigning the food system. “It’s time for the food bowl of the country, Punjab to pave the way for ecological development and fix the broken food system,” he added.

“We have to follow a natural capital approach and deal with various kinds of incomes which are used by millions of households in the economy, for these ecosystems play a significant role in ecological development,” stated Prof L Venkatachalam, Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai.

Agreeing, RS Ghuman, professor of economics, Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID), Chandigarh, said, “The destruction of ecosystem is a serious issue and it is high time that we all join hands to curb the menace.”

Environment is in complete disarray and on the verge of destruction with groundwater level also going down. DEVINDER SHARMA, farm economy expert