The Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) organized the 31st Annual General Meeting and Conference of the Pakistan Society of Development Economists (PSDE) from 17–19 December in Islamabad, Pakistan. The theme of the conference was ‘Vision 2025: Effective Strategies for Transformational Growth’. The energy-food-water nexus is one of the seven pillars of Pakistan’s Vision 2025. PIDE, which is the primary think tank for the Federal Ministry of Planning in Pakistan, invited Dr Golam Rasul, Theme Leader of Livelihoods at ICIMOD, to provide his thoughts on managing the challenges of the energy-food-water nexus in Pakistan.

Dr Rasul was the lead panellist and moderator for the session ‘Keeping the Incentive Alive: Investment in Energy, Water and Food Security’ and key discussant on ‘Energy, Water and Food Security’. Referring to declining investment in agriculture and water, Dr Rasul highlighted the importance of direct and indirect incentives for investment to achieve energy, water, and food security in Pakistan. However, he emphasized that we need the right kind of incentives. Misplaced incentives can encourage misallocation and inefficient use of resources and, thus, exacerbate problems. As such, he recommended greater synergy and the integration of policies and practices in the energy, water, and agriculture sectors to achieve sustainable production. He said that “Embracing the nexus perspective will provide an innovative way forward to ensure the efficient management of these critical resources to secure future food demands and address poverty and climate change issues”. He also provided insights on managing the nexus challenges in Pakistan to achieve the Vision 2025. Dr Rasul has also been invited by Pakistan’s national television channel PTV World to talk on the different aspects of the energy-food-water nexus.

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