GMO crops

Pakistan is a non-GMO food country. The cotton crop is only officially allowed as a GMO crop for commercial cultivation. Although the cotton crop is considered 90 percent self-pollinated and 10 percent cross pollinated crop, the existing non-GMO cotton crop has also been contaminated with the GMO cotton crop. Now it has become very difficult to harvest non-GMO cotton from existing crop. There is no mechanism for coexistence in the country for GMO and non-GMO seeds and it is also not applicable to small land-holdings. The avoidance of contamination of GMO crop to non-GMO crop is also not possible through delay in time of sowing.

In view of the above, the country needs to take a decision on GMO for commercialization on crop-to-crop and need basis. Also, commercial cultivation of the GMO maize in the country should not be allowed as it is a controversial technology due to which the country’s exports may also suffer. Also, there is no significant yield increase or reduction in production cost by adopting GMO seeds. It is to be added that the county must benefit from bio-technology, but at the same time biotechnology is not limited to only genetically modified organisms.

Khan Faraz

Peshawar