ISLAMABAD: Deliberating on the positives and negatives of permitting Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in Pakistan, agricultural experts partaking in a moot were congruent over the need of devising a comprehensive and consolidated policy framework having proper rules and regulations to deal with the import of GM seeds.
The necessity was stressed at a roundtable discussion titled ‘GMO Scene in Pakistan’, which was held at the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad the other day.
The session was chaired by IPS Executive President Khalid Rahman and addressed by former federal cabinet secretary Syed Abu Ahmad Akif, Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) Director General Farzana Altaf Shah, Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department’s former director general Dr Abdul Rauf Bhutta, Islamia College University Peshawar’s Associate Professor Dr Muhammad Fahim Peshawar, and Agriculture Reform Movement President Ijaz Ahmed Siddiqui.
Dr Bhutta, in his opening speech, said though the Seed Act 1976 of Pakistan had no provision for certification of GMOs, the multinational companies were still being given exemptions for seed import in Pakistan Biosafety Rules 2005.
He was critical of the government departments and regulatory authorities, saying the national food security was one of the pillars of sovereignty for any country, but there was no proper risk assessment sector in Pakistan for the purpose except the National Biosafety Committee.
Ijaz Ahmed Siddiqui’s talk focused on the need of agriculture development making use of technological advancements.
Speaking against allowing import of any GMO seeds for food crops, Siddiqui questioned if GMOs were so environment-friendly and beneficial for human health, why their advocates had to use illegal and indirect ways to put them in the system.
He highlighted various discrepancies and inefficiencies underscoring the incompetency of government departments, maintaining that many decisions made over the years pertaining to GMOs were taken against the country’s interest.
Siddiqui also criticized the lack of proper regulatory guidelines in the country, stressing alongside that Pakistan’s regulations and guidelines for biosafety would also have to show compliance with the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which Pakistan has ratified.
Dr Fahim pointed out that there were proper check and balance systems in place in the countries that were using GMOs, whereas Pakistan neither had laboratories nor the expertise for this purpose.
He said he was not against GMOs, but local laws, practices as well as capacity also needed to be built first accordingly.
The speaker also criticised the agriculture researchers in Pakistan, stating that their only objective was to earn a few points for receiving rewards from the Higher Education Commission (HEC), and hence their produced research was not adding any value or utility to local requirements.
Dr Farzana agreed that there was no consolidated policy regarding GMOs in Pakistan so far despite the need, but mentioned that the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1997, the National Biosafety Guidelines 2005 and Biosafety Rules 2005 did address this issue.
She negated the objection of having no biosafety testing labs in the country and also categorically denied that any GMO seed license was issued by the National Biosafety Committee.
Dr Farzana appreciated the efforts of IPS for conducting a useful discussion over the GMO issue. She emphasized the need of raising awareness over the issue, saying that platforms like IPS could be used to identify policy gaps and provide necessary policy guidelines to address these shortcomings.
“Such interactions involving government representatives and people working in the field would help policymakers design a strategy that is more practical and in line with the local needs,” she added.
