Urgent Appeal: Stop the GMO Maize Invasion — Pakistan Hi-Tech Hybrid Seed Association

Issuer: Pakistan Hi-Tech Hybrid Seed Association (PHHSA). This is an urgent public appeal urging federal leaders to stop the commercial release and spread of GMO maize in Pakistan and to protect the country’s non-GMO seed sector and farmers’ seed sovereignty.

Main concerns and purpose: The notice warns that once GMO maize is sown, irreversible contamination of local seed and fields will follow. It argues that cross-contamination will destroy Pakistan’s public and private maize seed sector, remove farmers’ choice, increase dependency on imported GMO seed and agrochemicals, and raise costs and agronomic risks for smallholders.

Key factual points cited:

- The Federal Government guideline recommending a minimum 300-meter isolation distance between GMO and non-GMO maize to avoid contamination is cited as impractical for holdings that are 5 acres or smaller.

- If GMO maize is commercialized, unavoidable cross-contamination and loss of the local seed sector are anticipated; farmers will be forced to buy costly imported GMO seed and associated herbicides; and local maize varieties and hybrid breeding gains will be under imminent threat.

- The notice frames GMO maize as a national security and food-sovereignty concern, stating that dependence on imported seed and inputs undermines local research, jobs, investment and decades of hybrid seed innovation.

Supporting arguments and recommendations: PHHSA stresses seed sovereignty = food security, highlights the performance of non-GMO hybrids, warns against allowing foreign firms to dominate the maize seed market, and calls on the government to protect Pakistani seed institutions and farmers by rejecting GMO maize commercialization.

Appeal recipients and endorsements: The appeal is directed to senior federal officials and ministers (named in the notice) and references concerns raised by defence institutions and media reports regarding GMO maize risks.

Action requested: Protect non-GMO maize production, uphold isolation and biosafety measures that are practicable for smallholders, and do not approve commercialization of GMO maize in Pakistan.