Combat desertification to tackle global food crisis: ICRISAT

Hyderabad, Nov 3 (UNI) ICRISAT Director General William Dar today said combating desertification was important for tackling the global food crisis.

In a statement here, Dr Dar, who also chairs the Committee on Science and Technology (CST) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), said, ''the health of our lands is the basis of our food chain, climate and the livelihoods of the poor people. If we fail to combat land degradation and desertification, the consequences can be disastrous. We must use science to become better stewards of our precious inheritance''.

The world was going through a food, energy, climate and credit crisis, each having repercussions on every sphere of human activity, he said, adding land degradation would add to the adverse impact of each of these problems.

Dr Dar said failing to take measures to address desertification, land degradation and drought threats sustainable land management, would have a severe impact on food and water security.

The UNCCD mechanism provided the platform for bringing together policymakers and global scientific institutions to combat land degradation and desertification, he said.

The CST of UNCCD would generate a baseline based on most robust data available on biophysical and socio-economic trends and gradually harmonising relevant scientific approaches in affected areas to enable better decision-making and effective knowledge-sharing systems at the global, regional, sub-regional and national levels, he added.

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