LAHORE: CropLife Pakistan welcoming the approval of Pakistan’s first National Agricultural Biotechnology Policy and National Seed Policy 2026, has stressed the need for it’s implementation dubbing the move as a landmark step towards improving food security, enhancing agricultural productivity, promoting innovation, and strengthening the country’s seed and biotechnology sector.
CropLife Pakistan, Executive Director Rashid Ahmed while talking to media here on Sunday thanked the Prime Minister and the Federal Cabinet for approving the two policies, saying they reflected the government’s commitment to modernizing agriculture and supporting farmers.
He said that with the approval of the policies, the need of the hour is their effective implementation so that farmers, researchers and the agriculture sector can fully benefit from the reforms and Pakistan can accelerate the adoption of modern agricultural technologies.
He said the policies, approved in April 2026 after nearly two years of consultations involving government ministries, regulatory authorities, scientists, provincial representatives and private-sector stakeholders, provide a clear framework for the responsible adoption of modern agricultural technologies, including biotechnology, improved seed systems and research-based innovation.
Responding to what he termed misleading media reports, Ahmed urged stakeholders to rely on verified data and factual evidence rather than unsubstantiated claims.
He rejected reports suggesting that biosafety work on genetically modified (GM) maize had been suspended over safety concerns. He explained that several CropLife member companies had received licenses in 2009 to conduct GM maize trials under the Pakistan Biosafety Rules and Guidelines 2005.
Following multi-year field trials and regulatory reviews by the relevant committees, commercialization approvals were granted in 2016-17.
However, he said the licenses expired after the standard three-year period because Pakistan lacked a comprehensive biotechnology policy at the time. “The licenses were neither suspended nor cancelled due to safety concerns,” he added, noting that the newly approved National Agricultural Biotechnology Policy now provides the basis for commercializing GM crops, including yellow maize.
Ahmed also disputed claims that China has not adopted GM maize technology. He said China is implementing a phased regulatory approval process and has already granted biosafety certificates, variety registrations, and seed production and operation licenses for several GM maize and soybean varieties.
Similarly, he said India has not rejected GM maize technology, adding that its Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee has permitted confined field trials of selected GM maize events offering herbicide tolerance and insect resistance.
According to Ahmed, Pakistan initiated regulatory trials for GM maize in 2009 when only the Philippines had commercialized the technology in Asia. Since then, countries including China, Indonesia and Vietnam have advanced, while Pakistan has yet to commercialize GM maize.
Addressing concerns over contamination risks, he said most maize produced in Pakistan is consumed by the poultry and livestock feed industries, which already use imported GM soybean and GM canola as feed ingredients. He added that local maize seed producers already follow isolation-distance and quality-control protocols, and similar stewardship practices could ensure the responsible adoption of GM maize hybrids.
Ahmed said Pakistan currently earns around $350-400 million annually from maize exports, including grain, forage and fodder, and this value could increase through the adoption of improved technologies such as GM maize hybrids.
He added that local wet millers account for less than nine percent of Pakistan’s maize exports, while the bulk of exports comes from other market participants. He also dismissed the perception that the European Union is entirely a non-GM market, saying the EU is the world’s second-largest importer of GM grain for food, feed and processing.
Ahmed warned that prolonged uncertainty caused by misinformation and vested interests had undermined confidence in Pakistan’s regulatory system. He cautioned that failure to renew GM maize commercialization licenses could discourage investment, delay agricultural innovation, and ultimately deprive Pakistani farmers of technologies capable of improving productivity, incomes and livelihoods.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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