Experts, farmers oppose proposed registration of GM maize

PESHAWAR: Amid strong opposition from farmers, local seed companies, officials and experts of agriculture, multinational companies have expedited efforts to get the extremely hazardous Genetically Modified (GM) maize registered at the Variety Evaluation Committee (VEC) and start its production in the country.

The companies have been making serious efforts to introduce GM maize in the country after it was banned everywhere in the world. A similar bid was made a few years ago to bring the crop to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa through legislation in the provincial assembly. However, the legislation could not be done due to the stiff resistance by the agriculture department officials, experts from the Agriculture University, National Institute for Food and Agriculture, farmers and local seed producers.

In other provinces too, similar efforts were foiled a couple of years ago. Now efforts are being made to convince the federal government to give registration to the GM maize and allow its production in Pakistan. For the purpose, a delegation of multinational companies is expected to meet the high-ups in the Ministry of Agriculture soon, sources told The News.

The ministry has already held consultative meetings with farmers, local seed companies and officials and agriculture experts from across the country where the idea of introducing GM maize in the country was strongly resisted. After the deliberation, a proposal would be submitted to the prime minister for taking the final decision, the sources said.

The resourceful multinational companies have been using every means to get the variety registered in Pakistan. After being banned in all the big and small countries of the world including the US and India due to its hazardous effects, these companies are desperately in search of new markets, the sources added.

According to experts, GM maize carries every kind of harm for the production and quality of the crop as well as for human health. Prof Dr Hidayatur Rahman, chairman Plant Breeding and Genetics Department, Agriculture University in Peshawar, told The News that GM maize would do away with the quality and taste of maize crop. "People in the province like to eat maize bread which has a unique taste," he pointed out.

He said that with the introduction of GM maize, the local taste would be gone. "It would quickly contaminate all the local breeds and every kind of maize would automatically become GM maize," he said.

Senior horticulture specialist and head of agriculture research in the newly merged tribal districts of the province, Fazal Wahab, said that GM crops posed serious threat to existing biodiversity and environment besides having health hazards for humans and livestock.

He said that GM organisms are different than the hybrid crops like maize and vegetables in terms of development method. He maintained that GMOs are developed through manipulation in DNA of the organisms concerned while hybrids are developed through natural sexual process called hybridization. "Therefore, hybrids are not considered as bio-safety threats," he argued.

He said that GM crops are developed having built-in resistance against major pests with the aim to reduce cost of production through reduced use of pesticides. He felt that with the passage of time, they would result in producing very harmful super-pests and super-weeds. The multinational companies that are seeking the registration of GM maize in Pakistan are also the major producers and exporters of pesticides, he said.

"The super-pests produced by the GM maize would result in new epidemic. These pests would be combated only through the pesticides produced by the same multinational companies," Fazal Wahab said.

Noted agriculturist and head of a leading seed company in the country, Mushtaq Safi, said that GM maize was as hazardous for the people as a nuclear bomb. He said that there was no single benefit of the variety except the financial interest of the big multinational companies.

He said that due to its countless hazards, GM maize has been strictly banned across the world, especially in the developed world where strict bio-safety mechanisms are already in place. "If the US is scared of the hazardous effects of GM maize despite having proper bio-safety system and is not allowing its production, how could we in Pakistan remain safe from its adverse effects as we don't have any bio-safety system at all," he argued.

He said that the GM crop could cause infectious and allergic diseases including cancer. "It would do away with all local varieties as maize is highly cross pollinated crop and GM maize would contaminate indigenous germplasm, which will be irreversible. Also, it would disturb ecosystem," he maintained.

Mushtaq Safi was of the opinion that if allowed in the country GM maize would establish the monopoly of the multinational companies and everyone would then be dependent upon them.

The farmers, experts and local seed producers have urged the government to refrain from taking any such decision that would affect every individual in the country and would benefit only the foreign companies.