By Arsalan Ali ISLAMABAD, March 29 (INP WealthPK): Biotechnology assists in producing environment-friendly products that help mitigate the impacts of climate change. Pakistan is predominantly at risk of atmospheric shift due to its location in such a geographical region where the temperature rises sharply as compared to the global average. Rising temperature causes ice melting and change in rain patterns in Pakistan. The country experienced a noted shift in monsoon (rain pattern) over the past several years which caused floods and drought. In 2010, Pakistan witnessed one of the worst floods in its history. One-fifth of the country was severely affected, leading to major economic losses and casualties. This flood caused direct losses of more than $10 billion. Many of the people who were most affected by the floods were farmers; an estimated 5.4 million acres (2.2 million hectares) of crops were destroyed, along with an estimated 1.2 million head of livestock. Dr Asif, Scientific Officer at the National Centre of Industrial Biotechnology (NCIB), told WealthPK that the biotechnology products not only help mitigate climate change impacts, but also save the people from hazardous environmental changes. He said the use of biotechnology in the agriculture sector boosts productivity. The NCIB is working on the use of biotechnology in food industry, food supplements, and pharmaceutical products. “The main objective of the NCIB is to analyse whether the biotechnology products are helpful in terms of import substitution and export promotion,” he said. Dr Asif said cooperation between industry and academics will help boost the production of biotechnology. He said Pakistan can generate healthy revenue by exporting environment-friendly products. Dr Abedullah, Chief of Research at Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), told WealthPK that biotechnology is one of the most reliable answers to mitigate climate change through the use of synthetic fertilizer, energy-efficient farming, and carbon sequestration. He said that planting genetically-modified crops has shown a significant reduction in the greenhouse gases emission. Dr Abedullah stated that biotechnology provides green products, water, and clean air. Biotechnology helps to make the manufacturing process cleaner and more efficient by reducing toxic chemical pollution. According to the Economic Survey of Pakistan, agriculture sector contributes 19.2 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) and employs around 38.5 percent of the labour force. Agriculture sector is indispensable to economic growth, employment generation, and food security. The agricultural growth rate has been constrained by shrinking arable land, climate change, and water shortages. Increasing agricultural productivity, therefore, requires the adoption of new approaches. Climate change is the biggest physical threat to our society. It is something that we have allowed to get out of all control and therefore we don’t have any kind of control over timing. The practice of agricultural biotechnology can be a significant tool to address the causes and consequences of climate change to achieve social goals such as reducing environmental impacts from agriculture and improving global food security. The government must increase research and development in biotechnology to mitigate the effect of climate change.