Pakistan must reject commercialisation of GMO maize: PHHSA

Business Recorder reported that the Pakistan Hi-tech Hybrid Seed Association (PHHSA) wants the government to reject moves that would allow GMO maize to be grown commercially. The association notes that pollen from the crop can drift across hundreds of metres, making coexistence with conventional maize difficult to achieve. Citing the Agriculture Census 2024, it says the average farm covers only 5.1 acres, so physical separation of fields is impractical.

Local firms, the association adds, account for 80 percent of White Maize seed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with smaller shares of 45 and 15 percent in the Autumn and Spring crops. It warns that cross-contamination would undermine the domestic seed base, halt research and development, and put thousands of jobs at risk. Processors such as Rafhan have reportedly ruled out buying GMO maize, and the group warns that factories could close or depend on imports.

The association also points out that only about two dozen countries grow GMO maize commercially, while the EU, India, Australia, Turkey and China prohibit it. It urges Pakistan to invest in local breeding, strengthen quality control and protect farmer choice, adding that genetic contamination cannot be reversed once it occurs.