Suggested slug: gmo-maize-licenses-decision-today
Category: Business
Focus keyphrase: GMO maize licences Pakistan
SEO title: Pakistan to Decide on GMO Maize Licences Today (44 chars)
Meta description: Pakistan’s biosafety committee meets today on renewing GMO maize licences for Corteva and Bayer varieties, with a PM-ordered policy review pending. (147 chars)
Tags: GMO maize, National Biosafety Committee, agriculture, Corteva, Bayer, biosafety, food security, Ministry of Climate Change
Original element: explainer context — the 2019 halt on GMO maize experiments, the pending PM-ordered policy review, and what is at stake for Pakistan’s non-GMO maize export sector
Govt to Decide on GMO Maize Licences Today
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Biosafety Committee (NBC) is set to consider the renewal of commercial licences for genetically modified maize varieties at its 38th meeting on Friday (today), amid concerns that the move could pre-empt a policy review ordered by the prime minister.
The agenda includes renewal applications for insect-resistant and herbicide-tolerant maize varieties developed by multinational companies Corteva and Bayer, according to reports.
Renewals raise regulatory concerns
Environmental organisations and agricultural policy specialists argue that commercial approvals should wait until a specialised federal committee completes its assessment of the economic and environmental implications of GMO maize cultivation.
Critics say approving the renewals before the prime minister’s committee finalises national policy guidelines could undermine the ongoing review. They argue that extending commercial licences at this stage would grant continued market access without resolving questions about the crop’s environmental and economic viability.
The NBC operates under the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination and regulates genetically modified organisms under Pakistan’s biosafety framework.
Pakistan previously halted GMO maize experiments
The debate follows a July 2019 directive by the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency, which halted GMO maize experiments and import authorisations over concerns about unintended crop contamination, cross-pollination and potential damage to Pakistan’s non-GMO maize export sector.
Cross-ministerial discussions coordinated by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research found no meaningful productivity gains or financial savings from genetically modified seeds compared with conventional hybrid varieties, reports said. Legislative committees and provincial governments, including Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, also opposed GMO maize in favour of non-GMO hybrid alternatives used in countries including China, India and Turkiye.
Soybean imports and cotton field trials also on agenda
The committee will also consider a request from Zubair Feeds (Pvt.) Ltd to import 47 authorised genetically modified soybean varieties for animal feed processing through the Center of Excellence in Molecular Biology. The proposal comes as national authorities continue developing a comprehensive framework for domestic soybean production and imports.
Under another agenda item, the committee will consider a field-testing application for UAM 2026, a multi-gene cotton variety submitted by MNS University of Agriculture, Multan. The variety is designed to address pink bollworm damage and invasive weed challenges.
What is at stake
Under the Pakistan Biosafety Rules 2005 and obligations under the Cartagena Protocol, commercial approvals and product imports require post-market surveillance, pest resistance documentation, and assessments of environmental and economic consequences.
Critics argue that approving commercial renewals without disclosing the relevant safety assessments could weaken transparency and environmental safeguards, while increasing the risk of the very contamination that prompted the 2019 restrictions.
The timing is significant for Pakistan’s farm economy. Maize is one of the country’s major crops, and the non-GMO status of Pakistani maize matters to export buyers — a consideration that also runs through the wider debate on food security and farm exports. With exports central to the government’s growth agenda and agriculture a major part of the export basket, the committee’s decision will be watched closely by growers and the seed industry alike. It also follows a bruising month for growers on input costs — Hyderabad’s millers recently rejected the official wheat issue price as unworkable.
Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik was unavailable for comment when contacted, according to the report. The outcome of today’s meeting is expected to shape the regulatory direction until the prime minister’s committee completes its policy review.
