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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.
