KARACHI, April 4: In a world where people are using tissue culture techniques at home to improve their livelihoods, it’s unfortunate to see Pakistan, the sixth most populous country in the world, with no credible vaccination programme and biotech-based production.
Faced with food, water and energy shortages, which would only become more severe in the next few years, Pakistan needs to make a strong beginning in biotechnology, regarded as one of the key disciplines capable of bringing about a scientific revolution, which is being explored throughout the world. This field of science can provide us with healthier foods, reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuel, and offer more effective cure of diseases.
This was the gist of the press briefing addressed by National Commission on Biotechnology Chairman Dr Anwar Nasim and Acting Director of International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences, Karachi University, Dr Mohammad Iqbal Choudhry at the LEJ National Science Information Centre, Karachi University, on Friday.
The speakers also highlighted the activities of the Pakistan Biotechnology Information Centre, the country’s first information centre on biotech. Besides, a study report on ‘Global status of commercialised biotech/GM crops: 2007’ prepared by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) was also launched.
Laying emphasis on much-needed progress in biotechnology, Dr Iqbal said developed nations were quite aware of the consequences of depleting natural resources and that was the reason why they had started investing in biotech research decades ago with a desire to cash in on new developments in health care. And today one can see that these countries have greatly benefited in terms of jobs generation, increased national wealth and provision of better health care for the masses.
Food and fuel
“With investment in bio-fuel, a tug of war has already started between food and fuel,” he said and warned of the impending threats of water, food and fuel scarcity. “Experts in Malaysia are, for instance, debating to plant oil palm or jatropha to produce bio-fuel. [Once dried out and crushed, jatropha seeds yield oil which can be burned in almost any diesel engine – with no modification.] This is because the global oil prices are consistently rising and there is a crisis in the offing as the reserves of fossil fuels will deplete in the next 10 to 12 years,” he said.
Dr Iqbal said the country needed to benefit from the amazing developments in the field of biotechnology that had already taken place in developed nations.
“Technologies are available to grow crops resistant to pests and disease. Also, there are solutions to water scarcity and salinity. What we need to do is adapt these solutions according to our local environment.”
Home-based biotech production
There was a lot more that could be learned from the experience of others as the world’s desperate search for new sources of energy had introduced biotechnology to the grassroot level, he said.
“It is surprising to see how quickly the world has progressed in biotech. People are doing tissue culture now at home because this is something directly linked to their livelihoods. Looking at their progress, it is unfortunate to see that Pakistan, the world’s sixth populous state, despite having tremendous talent and potential to progress, has no credible vaccine programme and no biotech-based production.”
He also talked about some recent and ongoing works in 27 institutes of biotechnology. Besides, he said that after the launch of its website the Pakistan Biotechnology Information Centre had been connected to global developments in biotech. He also lauded the role of the national commission in the little but significant progress made in biotechnology sector so far.
The chairman of the National Commission on Biotechnology, Dr Anwar Naseem, who is also the president of Federation of Asian Biotech Associations and adviser on Committee on Science and Technology (Comstech), Islamabad, highlighted the significance of science and technology in national development and the much-needed commitment for the country’s progress.
He was critical of the fact that the country made little progress in science since its inception and said there was a dire need to catch on advancements made in the biotech sector across the globe.He said Pakistan did not have a good track record in science and technology. Look at the meagre budget amount that used to be allocated for the purpose, he remarked. “Now things have started moving in the right direction. We have to produce opportunities so that more and more talented youths are attracted to scientific research,” he observed.
He said Brazil, Cuba, India and China were examples in the field of biotech. “We are benefiting from biotech in agriculture to some extent, but our performance in pharmaceuticals is nil. With the help of biotech investment in pharmaceutical industry, we can earn a lot,” he added.
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