PM Imran proposes five-point agenda to uplift agriculture in developing countries.

ISLAMABAD -- Prime Minister Imran Khan has emphasised on global efforts to invest in sustainable agriculture infrastructure and ensure adequate and fair prices for agricultural and food products to end poverty and hunger in the world.

The PM was speaking virtually at the Governing Council of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Italy on Wednesday, in which he proposed a five-point agenda on the subject.

PM Imran highlighted the need to devise a joint strategy to confront the global economic shocks triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, saying: 'We will perish or survive together.'

The premier also spoke about the dangers of global hunger and malnutrition affecting hundreds of millions of people, cautioning that the world today faces a 'looming agricultural crisis'.

He said agriculture is central to human survival and 600 million people suffer from hunger even as the global population is about to hit eight billion.

The Covid-19 pandemic is likely to push another 100 million people into extreme poverty, the PM noted, saying more than 20 countries are food insecure, while the World Food Programme has warned of the danger of famine in some of the poorest countries and conflict zones.

'The world faces multiple challenges in recovering from the pandemic and achieving [the] vital first two sustainable development goals (SDGs) - no poverty and zero hunger,' Imran said, adding that there was a lack of financing, shortage of investment, trade distortions, unsustainable production and consumption patterns, degradation of agricultural lands and forests, an impending water crisis, loss of biodiversity, and polluted rivers and oceans.

'We need a revolution in our vision of our future. The Covid-19 pandemic and the climate crisis should drive home the message to all rich and poor, weak or powerful that their destinies are intertwined. We will perish or survive together,' he emphasised.

The PM stressed that the concepts of geo-strategic adversaries, regional or global domination, political advantages of foreign intervention and occupation, and the oppression of people are 'outdated and will soon be seen as irrelevant'.

'We need a common plan and strategy for global recovery and survival and prosperity of all humanity in response to the recession triggered by the Covid-19 crisis,' he said, recalling his proposal for a global initiative on debt relief last April.

While the debt suspension announced by the G20 countries and the emergency...