Pakistan has imposed a ban on further trials of GM corn for an unspecified period of time in a bid to prevent contamination of natural crops that may eventually harm exports of maize, an official declaration said.
A notice published by the Environmental Protection Agency Ministry of Climate Change, entitled’ Suspension of GM Corn / Maize Country Activities,’ said the ultimate decision was taken at a National Biosafety Committee (NBC) meeting. Citing the federal government’s judgment, on July 09, 2019, Punjab Seed Corporation, a public-seed corporation, forwarded a written order to the department involved.
It was informed by formal correspondence that all GM maize import and field trials permit in the nation were suspended along with all associated operations. The tests of bio-engineered maize will come to a standstill after a ban on imports of GM maize seeds and other related activities.
Earlier, the Ministry of National Food Security & Research issued a judgment against giving authorization to commercially develop genetically engineered plants after a comprehensive consultation with stakeholders. It is indicated that the government will not allow biotechnology to be used to develop food crop seeds.
During the consultation, most stakeholders believed that the adoption of GM seeds did not result in a substantial rise in yield or decrease in manufacturing costs. In such deliberation, it was found that there was no doubt that the nation must benefit from biotechnology, but at the same moment, biotechnology was not restricted to genetically modified organisms alone.
It was observed that severe concerns about exports of maize contaminated with GM maize from Pakistan have been raised, stating that such unwelcoming growth could hamper exports.
A series of heated discussions emerged in January this year when the federal Ministry of National Food Security jumped into action and prevented the process of GM approval at the eleventh hour by canceling a session of the Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC).
The high-level meeting, which was planned to green-signal the cultivation of GM corn in the nation, was plowed down in a rather drastic manner by the food minister himself. The moot was called for authorization by multinational seed firms for commercial farming of GM crop varieties.
Likewise, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s government has also formally voiced its negative opinions on GM corn agriculture. Officials voiced severe reservations about local maize varieties being contaminated owing to GM maize cross-pollination. They also noted that such an eventuality would harm local maize, which is a staple to the local population.
On the other hand, the high-powered parliamentary committee also unanimously objected to any such move and suggested hybrid corn based on country models. In its series of suggestions, bipartisan parliamentary committee members, headed by the Speaker National Assembly, suggested Pakistan should follow China, India, and Turkey’s models of biotechnology seed manufacturing and distribution. None of these nations have embraced crops of GM food.
Members of the Standing Committee on National Food Security and Research of the National Assembly also disagreed separately with the idea of enabling GM maize to be marketed. They vehemently opposed the move in the committee’s last meeting held a few months ago, stating that biotechnology had numerous problems. They lambasted the chairman of the standing committee in favor of the same for his unjustified remarks.