KARACHI: While developing countries are making fast progress in biotechnology to benefit their growing population and strengthen economy through food exports, Pakistan lags far behind in this field mainly due to bureaucratic hurdies that have effectively scuttled efforts of local experts, many of them have developed indigenous genetically-modified (GM) varieties and wait for government support for their commercialisation.

This was one of the key points highlighted at a press conference held on Monday at the launch of ISAAA (International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications) 2015 report at Karachi University`s Latif Ebrahim Jamal National Science Information Centre. The event was organised by the Pakistan Biotechnology Information Centre (PABIC).

`Though it`s biotechnology that has sustained and met the country`s local and export cotton needs since 2009, we couldn`t take this technology to a higher level; introducing it in food crops and other industrial crops,` said director of the International Centre for Chemicaland Biological Sciences Prof Mohammad Iqbal Choudhary.

Progress in biotechnology in Pakistan, he said, was limited only to the level of research.

`A number of scientists have developed indigenous GM varieties but awaiting government support for their commercialisation,` he said.

Elaborating on the hurdles hampering biotech growth in the country, he said that confusion and lack of clarity on responsibilities assigned under devolution halted the progress made in the field of biotechnology in previous years that included enactment of the Pakistan BioSafety Rules 2005 and establishment of the National Biosafety Centre.

`There was no set up in Islamabad to look into the requests for approval of biotech products for years primarily due to disagreement between the federal and the provincial governments.

`Now, a bio-safety committee does exist (at the federal level) but faces a huge back-log of pending cases,` he said.

Being an agrarian state and one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, Pakistan, he said, faced multiple challenges and it was high time that the government paid attention to this field to meet the need of growing population.Underlining the need for development of indigenous GM varieties and a proper regulatory framework for their approval, he said this was the only way to address concerns related to GM crops.

`It`s nothing less than a tragedy that despite being an agricultural country and having all required scientific skills, we important all hybrid seeds.

`Instead of inviting multinational companies, we need to have our own varieties that suit our ecosystems.

Giving a presentation on the Date Palm Research Institute of Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur, Prof Ghulam Sarwar Markhand, the director of the facility, said the centre had done a lot of work in micro-propagation.

`We have produced nine varieties, three of them are exotic. One of our biggest achievements is the successful application of inflorescence technique through which we have developed six varieties that are bearing fruit now,` he said.

Answering a question, he said that the government should choose the best performing universities and scientists, assigned them a task and provide them with required funding to progress in science.

In his brief speech, chief executiveofficer of the Cantonment Board Clifton Sardar Atif Sultan said: `It`s unfortunate that while regional countries are expanding their biotech efforts, we are not even in a phase of welcoming this technology.

India becomes top cotton producer According to the ISAAA report, 2015 marl
Up to 18 million risk-averse farmers benefited annually, of whom, remarkably, 90pc were small, resource-poor farmers in developing countries.

`India became the No.1 cotton producer in the world to which Bt cotton (a GM crop) made a significant contribution benefits for the period 2002 to 2014 are estimated at $18 billion,` it says.

According to the report, for the 4th consecutive year, developing countries planted more biotech crops. In 2015,Latin American, Asian and African farmers collectively grew 97.1 million hectares compared with industrial countries at 82.6 million hectares. Of the 28 countries planting biotech crops in 2015, the majority, 20, were developing and eight industrial.

Latin America had the largest hectarage,ledbyBrazil,followedbyArgentina.

In Asia, Vietnam planted for the first time, and Bangladesh`s political will advanced planting of Bt eggplant and identified Golden Rice, biotech potato and cotton as future biotech targets.

`Indonesia is close to approving a home-grown drought-tolerant sugarcane. China continues to benefit significantly from Bt cotton ($18bn for 1997 to 2014).

`Africa progressed despite a devastating drought in South Africa resulting in a decrease in intended plantings of 700,000 hectares in 2015 a massive 23pc decrease. This underscores yet again the life-threatening importance of drought in Africa, where fortunately, the WEMA biotech drought-tolerant maize is on track for release in 2017.

`In 2015, importantly, eight African countries field-tested, pro-poor, priority African crops, the penultimate step prior to approval,` the report says.