ISLAMABAD: The government is likely to renew licences for the commercialisation and cultivation of genetically modified maize throughout Pakistan, even as several nations, including the European Union, have prohibited its cultivation on their soils and its use in animal feed if it exceeds a certain threshold.

According to documents seen by Dawn, the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination had scheduled a meeting on Wednesday to consider requests from GMO seed companies seeking commercialisation and sale of GMO maize for cultivation across Pakistan. However, the 38th meeting of the National Biosafety Committee was postponed until Monday.

In March 2016, the National Biosafety Committee (NBC) issued licences to Corteva Pvt Ltd, formerly Pioneer, to conduct only confined field trials of GMO maize Events, which expired in March 2019.

Similarly, in January 2017, Bayer Pvt Ltd was granted licences to carry out only confined field trials of maize Events. The licences expired in January 2022.

Rafhan and others flag export risk to European markets

However, in May 2019, all biosafety licences regarding import and field trials of GMO maize in the country were suspended allegedly due to its health and environmental concerns, as maize is a highly cross-pollinated crop and risks contaminating non-GMO maize in the country.

In the absence of the National Agricultural Biotechnology Policy (NABP), it was difficult to fulfil the international commitment under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which was a global agreement that ensured the safe handling, transfer, implement strict safety risk assessment procedures to protect biological diversity from potential environmental risks due to the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Documents show that in a meeting on June 10, Dr Nasir A. Saeed, who is the Director, National Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), apprised the Technical Advanced Committee (TAC) meeting that the suspension of GM maize licences was based on key considerations.

Higher contamination risks

He said maize was a highly cross-pollinated crop, making it difficult to prevent gene flow and potential contamination of non-GM maize varieties.

Dr Saeed, who was also Vice Chairperson TAC, said Pakistan already achieved maize yields exceeding 100 maunds per acre in certain areas, therefore, the necessity of introducing GM maize required careful consideration.

In that meeting, Zakia Javed, representative of the Environment Protection Agency, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, stated that, while permission for laboratory work had been granted to the proponent in 2016, allowing the commercialisation of GM maize without conducting field trials, based solely on the approved seed policy, may not be an appropriate decision.

She further emphasised that the matter was highly sensitive and warranted consultation with all relevant stakeholders. Additionally, she noted that, given the country’s existing production capacity for non-GM maize, the justification and need for commercial cultivation of GM maize should be thoroughly examined.

The meeting also noted that national security agencies, such as the Strategic Planning Division (SPD) and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of the armed forces, had raised concerns that dependence on imported GM seed technology could pose risks to national agricultural production in the event of disruptions to seed supply chains.

According to the minutes of the second meeting on the Commercial Cultivation of GM maize, the representative from ISI strongly opposed the commercialisation of GM maize in Pakistan. “It is a controversial technology by which our export may suffer. There is no significant increase or decrease in yield or production cost. Therefore, a strategic decision may be taken for the commercialisation of GM maize in the country,” he pointed out.

The meeting noted that Rafhan Maize Products Company Ltd and other local companies exporting maize and value-added products to European markets had expressed concerns about the commercialisation of GM maize, as their exports may be adversely affected by Europe’s preference for GM-free products.

In India, neither GMO Event of genetically modified (GM) maize was approved for commercial cultivation, food, or feed use.

Under the regulatory oversight of Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) and the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR), commercial cultivation of both GMO maize events were not permitted in Australian fields. Any animal/pigs/cattle feed product containing GMOs, or proteins from these GMO events must be labelled as “genetically modified”.

In China, GMO maize was not approved for commercial cultivation. In Turkiye, there was zero tolerance for the cultivation of GM crops, and no genetically modified traits are approved for direct use in human food.

The Ministry of Climate Change did not respond to Dawn’s queries after the questions were emailed to the relevant section for a response.

Published in Dawn, June 26 , 2026