is among the countries faced with highest food insecurity, complete breakdown of supply chain and negative flour consumption, and a national dialogue on food security is direly needed. With the food management sector exhausted and a tremendous increase in pesticides and fertilisers creating issues in the agriculture sector, only biotechnology is left for addressing the food insecurity being faced by the country’s increasing population.
This was expressed by eminent scientists of the country during a press conference at the Latif Ebrahim Jamal National Science Information Centre, International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) of University of Karachi. The event was jointly addressed by Pakistan Biotechnology Information Centre (PABIC) Patron Prof Dr Anwar Nasim, PABIC Director Prof Dr M Iqbal Chaudry, National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE) Environmental Biotechnology Head Dr Qaiser Mahmood Khan, Pakistan Biological Safety Association (PBSA) President Dr Erum Khan, Dr Faheem Taheer and ICCBS Associate Professor Dr Saifullah Khan.
PABIC Director Chaudry said that Pakistan has become an exporter of wheat from the position of an importer during the period from 1965 to 1970 with the help of hybrid seeds. “Today, with 180 million people faced with severe food insecurity, we should adopt biotechnology in the agriculture sector to guarantee food security,” he said. He further said that the country needs to adopt enlightened integrated technology to deal with the issue of food shortage, following the success stories of other countries that brought a revolution in their agriculture sectors through biotechnology. Dr Saifullah said that through a short-term plan to come out of the food crisis, the country should go for the successfully adopted models of biotechnology, while in the long term, developing original genes through core research in this technology is required.
“Biotechnology advocates lower inputs and higher outputs. Through this model, farmers can reduce costs for pesticides and chemicals while getting higher productivity. Pakistan can reduce its import bill of edible oil by growing canola, sunflower, etc but a powerful lobby in the government does not want this,” he said. PABIC Patron Nasim said that it was unfortunate that the real issues of the country, like food insecurity, are not being addressed by the media. The government is also indifferent to the agriculture sector, which contributes 25 percent to the country’s GDP; however, there is a need to tap resources in the right manner, he added.
To a question, NIBGE’s Dr Qaiser said his centre has invented nitrogen-fixing bacteria, which reduce the consumption of urea, and their commercial use has also been started in Punjab. He added that the country’s scientists should work on core research to address the future agricultural issues of the country and not to let the country face technology failure. Deploring that the government and other funding agencies do not take interest in technological advancement to curb food insecurity, PBSA President Dr Erum said that the local funding agencies need to come forward for such important things.
After the press conference, the launching ceremony of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) Brief 42 and one-day seminar on Application of Modern Biotechnology was held.
