Pakistan’s federal cabinet has approved the National Agricultural Biotechnology Policy 2025, a three-year strategic framework developed by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research to enhance crop production, promote the adoption of genetically modified agriculture, and align local farming practices with international biotechnology standards. The policy comes in the wake of a historic slump in Pakistan’s cotton harvest, which fell to just five million bales in recent years, the lowest output in four decades, compared to a historical average of 12 to 15 million bales and the 16 million bales annually required by the country’s textile mills to sustain production. The approval marks a significant step in Pakistan’s long-delayed effort to build a unified and science-backed approach to agricultural biotechnology.
The Ministry of National Food Security informed the cabinet that agricultural biotechnology is significantly transforming global farming practices, with genetically modified crops now covering nearly 3 percent of the world’s arable land. Pakistan, the ministry noted, possesses strong potential in the field, supported by a sizeable pool of scientific expertise, an established regulatory framework, and well-equipped biotechnology research centres. Several key policy documents had already highlighted the importance of biotechnology, including the Science and Technology Policies of 2011 and 2024, the National Food Security Policy of 2018, the National Seed Policy of 2025, and Pakistan Vision 2030. Despite those institutional strengths and supportive policies, the ministry acknowledged that Pakistan had yet to fully capitalise on the opportunities offered by agricultural biotechnology, with the primary reason being the absence of a clear, comprehensive, and unified strategic direction.
The process of developing the National Agricultural Biotechnology Policy began in earnest when the Special Investment Facilitation Council, in its sixth Executive Committee meeting held in October 2023, directed the ministry to develop and finalise a proposal for a Genetically Modified Organism policy. The ministry subsequently constituted a committee headed by the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council on November 20, 2023, to draft the policy. After preparing an initial draft, a second committee was established under the leadership of the National Seed Development and Regulatory Authority chairperson in April 2025, comprising technical experts tasked with refining the draft. Consultative meetings were held in May, June, and subsequently with private-sector stakeholders in June 2025, before the final summary was submitted to the federal cabinet in December 2025 for approval.
Cabinet members, during deliberations on the matter, were informed that many countries had already prepared biotechnology policies and that it was imperative for Pakistan to formulate a similar framework for the promotion of genetically modified crops, which would enable the country to take advantage of the latest advancements in the field while protecting against risks associated with genetic engineering. The approval of the National Agricultural Biotechnology Policy 2025 is expected to provide a long-absent strategic foundation for Pakistan’s agricultural research institutions, seed regulators, and private sector actors to work within a coherent national framework, with the ultimate goal of improving crop yields, food security, and the competitiveness of Pakistan’s agricultural exports in global markets.
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