Despite January’s news that the federal ministry of national food security had halted the GM approval process, the Cornell Alliance for Science reported, on July 9, 2019, that Pakistani farmers and scientists expressed the need for genetic modification at a recent Crop Life Pakistan Association event.
A reader now sends news that all biosafety licenses regarding import and field trials of GM corn in Pakistan have been suspended. There is also a ban on further trials of GM maize for an unspecified period in order to avoid crop contamination that can subsequently hurt maize exports.
Rafhan Maize, a major exporter, has given their view publicly that their exports may be compromised if GMO is introduced. The Lahore based company provides maize for industrial applications, animal nutrition and food products.
In its set of recommendations, members of a parliamentary committee, headed by the Speaker of the National Assembly, recommended Pakistan to follow the example of China, India, and Turkey. None of these countries has adopted GM food crops.
Pakistan Economist
In June Market Screener reported that the unprecedented near-consensus against GM is amazing: “All the major stakeholders of agriculture sector including farmers, food processors, national seed companies and agribusiness exerts, vehemently oppose cultivation of genetically modified maize in Pakistan”.
It added that at another meeting at Department of Agriculture, Government of Sindh, the former World Bank project Head Shahajahn Hashmani said that now all progressive countries in the world are working hard towards preserving their own indigenous varieties.
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Further reading: Pakistan Economist article.
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