World Food Day 2019 ceremony was being held under the auspices of Food Department Punjab at a local hotel today in which Provincial Food Minister Samiullah Chaudhry attended the ceremony as a chief guest. Provincial Agriculture Minister Malik Nauman Ahmed Langrial, Advisor to CM on Food Sardar Khurram Khan Leghari, Chairman Punjab Food Authority Umer Tanvir Butt, Parliamentary Secretary on Food Zahoor Khan Kharal, Secretary Food Dr Zafar Nasrullah Khan, Central Chairman Pakistan Flour Mills Association Asim Raza and representatives of World Food Programme and UNICEF were also present in the ceremony. Samiullah Ch. in his address said that Food Department is continuing its struggle to overcome nutrition deficiency and government has focused its attention especially on the health of women and child. Punjab Food Authority has completed its work on Access Food Regulation 2019 and it will be implemented in Punjab very soon. Food Department and Punjab Food Authority is fully determined to provide fortified food to the people and sufficient amount of flour, ghee and salt is fortified presently, he stated. Today is the day to pay tributes to welfare organizations for providing surplus and leftover food to the hungry and impecunious strata of society. They are also creating awareness among the people with understanding that provision of quality food is our future and will also prove to be a milestone in making strong and prosperous Pakistan. PTI government has determined its direction to provide quality food to the people under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar and is treading on its destination successfully. He further said that when Food Department celebrates World Food Day in 2020 than it should make distressed and destitute people part of its ceremony so that they should not suffer from any sense of deprivation.
Provincial Agriculture Minister Nauman Ahmed Langrial in his address said that according to global index report 2019 Pakistan ranks on 106th number among 119 countries for consuming injurious food and we are also suffering from nutritional deficiency due to poverty in the country. Present government is striving to take expedient steps to cope up with important issues including nutritional deficiency. Government has allocated Rs3 billion for agricultural projects which will doubly increase per acre production in coming five years. Later on, prizes were distributed among male and female winner students who participated in photography and healthy food competitions.