FAISALABAD, June 14: Genetically Modified (GM) crops have the potential to improve food quality and efforts are being made to approve the required bio-safety rules and regulations at the earliest.

This was stated by Dr Kausar Abdullah Malik, member, Biosciences and Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) while inaugurating a four-day national training workshop on "Capacity Building in Bio-safety of GM Crops: GMO Detection" jointly organized by National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE) and FAO here on Monday.

Dr Malik said Pakistan had attained necessary skills to grow GM crops but certain environmental and legal complications were major hurdles in switching over to these crops.

He said seed was basic factor for the cultivation of GM crops. The present Seed Act was formulated in 1976 to provide legal cover to public sector companies. He said necessary changes to the law had been proposed.

Dr Malik also mentioned Plant Protection Variety Act and said spadework on it has also been completed and hopefully it would be approved soon. About bio-safety guidelines, he said, would have a meeting with environment department secretary and try to approve it as soon as possible.

Stressing the need for public private sector partnership, he asked the participants to develop a model of public-private sector partnership for the sale of seed of various high yielding crops.

He said public sector research organizations would provide its pre-basic seed to the private companies that would multiply and sell it to the growers. A certain percentage of their profit would be given to the institute that has developed these seeds or technologies, he added.

Dr Malik said reduction in the prices of fertilizers and pesticides would bring down the input cost and this would help growers improve the quality of produce. He appreciated the role of NIBGE and said research and education was one of the fundamental parts of its mandate.

Earlier Dr Nobuyuki Kabaki of FAO said the world was facing challenges due to high population growth rate which has exacerbated resources and was further complicating issues of poverty and food insecurity.

He said biotechnology with regard to the GM crops has significant potential for increasing food production and for the improvement of food quality. He said it related to the safety of its consumers as well as about potential negative effects they might have on ecosystems considered essential for sustainable agriculture and for maintaining agricultural biological diversity. -APP