Caretaker Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research, Dr. Kausar Abdullah Malik chaired a meeting on Seed System of Pakistan and reviewed its challenges and future prospects at Islamabad. The meeting was attended by all the main stakeholders of Seed Sector from all over Pakistan. The country Chief of The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Pakistan presented the salient points of the recently launched documents on National Seed Sector: Prospects and Challenges. The report highlighted that the regulatory system in Pakistan is improving but due to weak enforcement it is unable to attract foreign companies in the seed sector. Moreover, the national breeders’ intellectual property right is being pirated. The Seed Amendment Act of 2015 liberalized the seed sector resulted in mushroom growth of domestic private seed companies. The extensive consultation was carried out to streamline the seed sector by using advanced genomic technologies as well as of IT system for transparency. The Ministry of National Food Security & Research has already launched Trace & Track System in wheat crop which is from farm to farmer. Dr. Kausar Malik said that government is committed to uplift agro based industry in the country as solution of all our economic woes lies in the development of agriculture sector. He further said that there is need of uniform regulatory regime across all crop varieties to encourage & improve seed system in Pakistan. It has been observed that poor seed quality and widespread sale of unapproved varieties resulting in the low yield. Currently, there is large gap of 66% between supply and demand of certified seeds in the country. We should also develop a National Seed Policy, strategy, and a plan for implementation to get long term positive results with consensus. The public-private dialogue are necessary to optimize the seed supply system. The increase in public sector investment and incentivize private sector to invest in R&D will bring good result for the industry? The meeting also discussed the issues related to biotech seeds and resolved to settle this in compliance of national and international rules. Moreover, the principle of history of safe use will also be included in the approval process.
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