Restricted focus: Research revolves around just cotton crop
Govt must have roadmap of policies to promote productive research.
KARACHI:
Farmers are not just the only ones that are worried about the challenges of switching to hybrid and Genetically Modified Organisms in Pakistan, the academia too believe that something should be done to bring a visible and positive change.
While a number of people believe that the country is not doing any research on GM seeds, the reality is contrary to the perception. But what is true is that most of the research primarily revolves around the cotton crop.
However, leading academics are unanimous in their view that productive research can be possible only when the government has a strong roadmap of policies for hybrid and GM seeds.
Hybrid seeds are produced by cross-pollinating related plants to come up with more productive crop varieties. This is a natural and low-tech method. This process takes a long time but it is rewarding and considered relatively healthier than GM seeds, which are far more unnatural and can cause harm to soil, human health and the environment.
“Pakistan is not even implementing GM crop policies that it approved in 2005,” said Professor Dr Muhammad Sarwar Khan, Director of Biotechnology Centre, University of Faisalabad.
“Problems have compounded after the 18th Constitutional Amendment as the progress of provinces on developing and implementing policies related to hybrid and GM seeds has slowed down,” Khan said.
While looking content with the research on GM crops, especially on cotton varieties, he stresses the overall situation is far from satisfactory. One of the major impediments is the lack of clear policies due to which research work is not giving desired results.
“Growers will get certified and approved seeds when we have some clear policy. In its absence, a large number of farmers use uncertified imported seeds that do not usually give the desired output and also damage the soil and environment,” Khan said.
Farmers and exporters point out that hybrid seeds are being imported in large quantities from China. Most of the time the seeds are used without any test in the local environment, making it tough for the farmers to maintain the output.
“It is immensely important for the country to have clear policies. This is the only way to streamline the import of seeds and maintain the quality and farm output,” said Dr Saleem Shahzad, Chairperson of the Department of Agriculture and Agribusiness Management, University of Karachi.
The government’s intervention would definitely improve the situation and the farmers could get some guidance about how to use the new seeds and monitor the crops, he said.
A possible threat to human health
In the absence of productive research, nobody can firmly say the imported hybrid and GM seeds are perfectly suitable for Pakistan’s environment. It can be dangerous in many ways, especially for the environment and human health.
These were the views of Dr Saleem Shahzad, Chairperson of the Department of Agriculture and Agribusiness Management, University of Karachi.
He said anyone could ask questions about health hazards of hybrid and GM seeds because such complaints were made in western countries.
The situation is getting worse with the passage of time as environmental degradation is on the rise. Scientists have expressed concern about the increased use of fertilisers and other chemicals for hybrid and GM seeds. They raise the level of concentration of chemicals in plants and final products that are unhealthy for human consumption.
Shahzad stressed that seed tests were necessary according to local requirements because that was directly linked with the health of millions of people.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 29th, 2014.
Farmers are not just the only ones that are worried about the challenges of switching to hybrid and Genetically Modified Organisms in Pakistan, the academia too believe that something should be done to bring a visible and positive change.
While a number of people believe that the country is not doing any research on GM seeds, the reality is contrary to the perception. But what is true is that most of the research primarily revolves around the cotton crop.
However, leading academics are unanimous in their view that productive research can be possible only when the government has a strong roadmap of policies for hybrid and GM seeds.
Hybrid seeds are produced by cross-pollinating related plants to come up with more productive crop varieties. This is a natural and low-tech method. This process takes a long time but it is rewarding and considered relatively healthier than GM seeds, which are far more unnatural and can cause harm to soil, human health and the environment.
“Pakistan is not even implementing GM crop policies that it approved in 2005,” said Professor Dr Muhammad Sarwar Khan, Director of Biotechnology Centre, University of Faisalabad.
“Problems have compounded after the 18th Constitutional Amendment as the progress of provinces on developing and implementing policies related to hybrid and GM seeds has slowed down,” Khan said.
While looking content with the research on GM crops, especially on cotton varieties, he stresses the overall situation is far from satisfactory. One of the major impediments is the lack of clear policies due to which research work is not giving desired results.
“Growers will get certified and approved seeds when we have some clear policy. In its absence, a large number of farmers use uncertified imported seeds that do not usually give the desired output and also damage the soil and environment,” Khan said.
Farmers and exporters point out that hybrid seeds are being imported in large quantities from China. Most of the time the seeds are used without any test in the local environment, making it tough for the farmers to maintain the output.
“It is immensely important for the country to have clear policies. This is the only way to streamline the import of seeds and maintain the quality and farm output,” said Dr Saleem Shahzad, Chairperson of the Department of Agriculture and Agribusiness Management, University of Karachi.
The government’s intervention would definitely improve the situation and the farmers could get some guidance about how to use the new seeds and monitor the crops, he said.
A possible threat to human health
In the absence of productive research, nobody can firmly say the imported hybrid and GM seeds are perfectly suitable for Pakistan’s environment. It can be dangerous in many ways, especially for the environment and human health.
These were the views of Dr Saleem Shahzad, Chairperson of the Department of Agriculture and Agribusiness Management, University of Karachi.
He said anyone could ask questions about health hazards of hybrid and GM seeds because such complaints were made in western countries.
The situation is getting worse with the passage of time as environmental degradation is on the rise. Scientists have expressed concern about the increased use of fertilisers and other chemicals for hybrid and GM seeds. They raise the level of concentration of chemicals in plants and final products that are unhealthy for human consumption.
Shahzad stressed that seed tests were necessary according to local requirements because that was directly linked with the health of millions of people.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 29th, 2014.