LAHORE: Rejecting the government’s decision to permit the commercial cultivation of GM corn, the Pakistan Kisan Rabita Committee (PKRC) has called for a complete ban on the cultivation, sale, import, and commercial use of all Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) nationwide.
The demand follows an Aug 31 decision by the Committee on GM Corn, constituted by the prime minister, to introduce the crop commercially, framing the initiative as a step toward agricultural modernisation and the safe coexistence of GM and conventional varieties.
Strictly refuting this rationale, PKRC leadership declared in a statement that the move represents a corporate takeover of Pakistan’s seed, agricultural, and food sovereignty systems rather than a simple crop update.
PKRC leaders emphasised that seeds are the foundation of farmer independence and food security, developed through generations of local seed-saving and community exchange.
PKRC warns of corporate control over seed sovereignty
They warned that corporate seed patenting models, reinforced by legislative frameworks such as the Seed Act Amendment 2015, the Plant Breeders’ Rights Act 2016, and the National Seed Policy 2024, force growers into total annual dependence on multinational seed vendors.
They dismissed government claims of GM and non-GM coexistence, citing cross-pollination risks that threaten traditional crop varieties, destroy local agricultural biodiversity, and imperil vital export markets in the European Union, China, Australia, and New Zealand that enforce strict non-GMO quality standards.
To address these concerns, PKRC called for an immediate and permanent prohibition on all GMO releases, sales, and corporate licencing. The organisation demanded strong legal protections for local seed varieties, insisting on farmers’ collective rights to save, exchange, and re-sow indigenous seeds.
Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2026
