tootoo52

agriculture tool Considering the food scarcity in the country and its future impact, the use of genetically modified organisms in agriculture would not only increase yield but also reduce the need for more farmland, irrigation facilities and pesticides. This was stated by Federal Environment Minister Hameed Ullah Jan Afridi while addressing the participants of a seminar on 'Genitacally Modified Organisms (GMOs) - Applications and Implications', organised by the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) and the National Biosaftey Centre (NBC) here on Tuesday. Federal Environment Secretary Ejaz Ahmed Qureshi, Pak-EPA Director-General Asif Shuja, Pak-EPA Director Ziaul Islam, NBC Secretary-General Dr Kauser Abdullah Malik, National Commission on Biotechnology Chairman Dr Anwar Naseem, representatives of Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) and representatives of other departments concerned, students and lecturers attended the seminar. "Genetically Modified Organism has attained utmost importance owing to increasing demand for food world over. However, this phenomenon is new in this part of the world", said the minister. Afridi said that where these benefits could boost the economy and provide food security there are unknown fears like health and environmental implications, which become more significant particularly in case of developing countries like Pakistan. The minister commented that the release of GM crops without carrying out proper risk-assessment could create havoc and adversely affect non-GM crops by contaminating them with their modified genomes. "Before commercial release of the GM crop, I call upon scientists to fully understand the economic value of agriculture produce particularly our cotton which is a backbone of Pakistan's economy", he maintained. He called upon the scientists, representatives of the civil society and the regulators to take responsibility of safeguarding agricultural resources and human health while adopting new Genetically Modified Organisms. Afridi said that bio-technology, its dynamics and rapidly evolving scientific research, has created need for GM applications in agriculture, health, industry and environment. "Modern techniques of biotechnology are being utilised to stabilise and enhance crops yield, improve the living standard of poor population, provide nutrient enriched and better quality food and reduce negative environmental impacts", said Afridi. The minister observed that the institutions like the National Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (Nibge), the Centre for Excellence in Molecular Biology (Cemb), and the National Institute of Agriculture and Biology (Niab) could play a vital role in research and development of GM technology and promoting its use. Afridi called upon National Bio-Safety Centre of Pak-EPA to closely work with these institutions and particularly with Minfal to build their regulatory capacity for enforcing bio-safety regulations. Speaking on the occasion, Ejaz Ahmed Qureshi said the environment ministry has set up a National Bio-safety Centre at Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency to implement and execute the Pakistan Bio-safety Rules and National Bio-safety Guidelines. "More than 35 research and academic institutions are working on the field of biotechnology, which is a very encouraging sign. These institutes need to be strengthened for research and development of GM technology adopting adequate bio-safety regulations", he added. He said the world community is conscious of the risks of "Genetically, Modified Organisms" and their products. He said the United Nations had introduced Cartagena Protocol on the bio-safety under the umbrella of Convention on Bio-diversity, which is an effective tool to create a regime of bio-safety among countries willing to undertake "Genetically Modified Organisms" trading. He said Pakistan is a signatory to the Cartagena Protocol on the bio-safety and is in the process of its ratification. "We need technically sound institutes to regulate GM products once the protocol is ratified", he added. Speaking on the occasion, various experts stressed the need for putting in place a monitoring system to detect the products produced locally through genetically modified organisms and the ones that are being imported. They said that the bio-accidents in the agricultural countries like Cotton Leaf Curl Virus in Pakistan threatened agriculture economy and vanished popular varieties of crops. Our consumers in most cases are not aware of the GM ingredients in seed and food for lack of knowledge. Under the international obligations, the consumer has the right to be informed of the GM products. Our Bio-safety Centre should address this aspect and a system of labelling of GM foods and fodder is put in place. They said that very few people know that almost 90 percent of Soyabean oil is being extracted from genetically modified seed. There are some well-equipped laboratories but unfortunately those are not being used the way they are supposed to be, they observed. The speakers also stressed the need for developing a system to detect if Bt-cotton is imported. They also said that the GMOs have heightened concerns that genetic engineering may in the long run be harmful to human health and the environment unless effective regulatory frameworks is put in place. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that the public and private sectors must introduce the use of biotechnology to maximise benefits and minimise risks.