Use of Biotechnology in Pakistan

By adopting modern technology, spectacular success may be achieved in the agricultural sector which is now subjected to lot of mishaps. The agriculturally developed countries of the world, like USA, Canada, Australia and Netherlands have attained maximum success with the help of advanced technology. Perennial problems like scanty rainfalls, shortage of cultivatable land, insufficient irrigation water, pest attacks, salinity and a host of such other problems were tackled successfully by means of modern technology in these countries who are now earning lot of foreign exchange by exporting their surplus production. It is now time that we in Pakistan introduce genetic engineering in our agricultural sector. This would not only bring appreciable decrease in the cost of production but we would also be able to produce more and better quality commodities in less time and on less acreage.

Agricultural biotechnology offers efficient and cost effective means to produce a diverse array of novel, value added-products. It has the potential to increase food production, reduce the dependence of agriculture on chemicals and lower the cost of raw materials, all in an environment friendly, sustainable and productive  manner.

Pakistan is the 4th largest producer of cotton after China, USA and India according to the statistics from the All Pakistan Textiles Mills Association. Cotton or white gold as it is aptly called is grown for its lint and seed, which yield cotton fibre and seed oil respectively. This crop occupies 70-75 million acre of the world area with an average yield of 485 kg/acre or 210 kg/hectare of lint and 500 kg/acre of seed cotton. To meet the challenges of this century with a population of more than 170 million, a total production of 12 million bales is required as against the 7-8 million bales of today.

This can be achieved by the use of improved crop production practices, coupled with appropriate pest management tactics. In addition to generation of novel, bio-technology can help to achieve the near impossible. Genes that have been identifies as potentially profitable, if engineered into acceptable cultivator methodology can be used to generate such transgenic. Among these are genes imparting resistance to herbicides, insects, pathogens and biotic stresses. It is also widely accepted now that a number of other qualitative characters can be improved, such as fibre strength, fitnesses, colour and thermal adaptability of the fibre. By biotechnological cotton, Pakistan can increase per acre yield from 14 to 30% which means that on the one hand, it will bring prosperity to the Pakistani farmers, on the other it will bring a boom to all industries and business activities which are directly or indirectly associated with the agricultural sector.

There are a number of benefits in producing and using bio-fuels, aside from the transportation fuel supply issue. First, bio-fuels are produced domestically, and the feed stocks for them are grown domestically too. This helps reduce our country's trade deficits and creates jobs, both of which are good for the economy. Our agriculture community stands to benefit specially, since the bio fuels are made from crops and agricultural residues, providing options for new valuable crops and new uses for the existing crops and residues. Producing our fuel domestically also improves our energy security; we become less dependent on the strategic, political, and economic whim of other countries.

Pakistan can gain economic benefits from biotechnology projects in three ways. First, they provide employment in the agriculture, health, energy and manufacturing sectors. Secondly, there is likely to be some downstream processing which adds value to the product before it leaves Pakistan, providing skilled employment, adding to our pool of knowledge and to the production infrastructure, Thirdly, where the intellectual property is held in Pakistan we can use it in a way, which is most appropriate for us.  Hence, this illustrates the breadth and implies the positive potential of biotechnology for our economy.

Copyright © 2010 Saadia Khan, 

Contributed By Saadia Khan 

Biochemistry scholar, 

Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad

 exclusively for Weed Media 

Economic Impact of Floods

Pakistan is suffering from the worst flooding disaster in living memory. What will be the economic effect, in the short, medium and long terms of this tragedy? How it will affect the government’s budget deficit and the growth rate? What can be done to mitigate the economic crisis? Following are some critical analysis of the economic impact of floods.

The sharp cutback in demand for a range of goods and services by those affected will largely be neutralized by the heightened demand for certain basic goods being provided through the relief effort – particularly food items like drinking water, dry rations like pulses, sugar, cooking oil, biscuits, etc., thereby maintaining a momentum of growth in the economy. However, unless some of the food items are imported from abroad (which could worsen the trade deficit unless these goods come in form of aid), we could witness higher food price. Inflation of this kind would hurt the poor badly throughout Pakistan and more so in non-agricultural population in rural areas which has to purchase its food from the market.

A large additional demand for some goods like tents, blankets, cotton sheets, etc., and construction materials – like cement, steel and wood and bricks will push up production in these sub-sectors of industry, thereby stimulating growth.

The allocations for aid operations financed from government funds, the compensation that will eventually have to be paid for every dead or injured person, displaced families, lost animals plus the cost of restoring some basic communications infrastructure will increase the budget deficit by atleast half a percentage point of the GDP, which should be affordable and might scale the inflation to more frightening heights. The deficit would have had to be raised further but for the overwhelming response of Pakistanis (both at home and abroad) and the international community and the capacity limits of the system to absorb and efficiently utilize large inflows of funds over the remaining part of the present financial year.

The long term economic impact poses other serious challenges. Rehabilitating shattered and displaced families and generating economic activity through restoration of the ramshackle infrastructure, considering the decades over which it had been built, will require massive sums of money. If the bulk of this funding is not provided by external sources, the government will have to increase its budget deficit to much higher levels over the next few years (which will keep the rate of inflation high) unless it can mobilize adequate resources by raising taxes, which is a politically daunting task.

The restoration of the destroyed infrastructure will be a long haul, partly because of the scale of the task and the volume of resources that will be required. And partly because of the absorptive capacity of the government machinery and the time and effort that will be needed.

While the impact on economic growth and related indicators (barring inflation) is not likely to be super serious in the short term; the long term requirements for alleviating the pain of this devastation are daunting and their outcomes are uncertain and difficult to predict.

Moreover, the indirect impact has already started appearing on the common life of people, as millions of people have donated their savings to help their brethren who are facing the devastation of the floods. Newspaper reports indicate that Eid shopping in the month of Ramadan, considered as best month for business and economic activity, has slowed down considerably. A huge burden on government’s spending can be perceived that would certainly hit a lot of new and ongoing projects. This would result in slowing down of the economy, besides increasing the budget deficit.

What Can Be Done?

No institution or country is perfect. There is always a scope for improvement in every sphere of life. Economic stability by itself is a gigantic task, specially, in a society so used to financial and fiscal indiscipline, socio-political disorder, corruption and mal administration sponsored by political elite of sitting governments.

Today Pakistan is in grave economic crisis and immediate measures need to be taken in order to come out of financial debacle the country is now facing. These measures must be home grown and not taken at the behest of pressure of international donor agencies. Visionary and revolutionary macroeconomic stabilization policies are needed to be taken to turn this disaster into an opportunity. Start by cutting defense expenditures. Downsize the inefficient and large cabinet. Cut the expenditures of Presidency, Prime Minister and ministers. End the nonsense foreign visits by national dignitaries. Promote and implement good governance and eradicate corruption. Introduce and implement comprehensive land reforms. Introduce structural reforms to remove distortion in the economy. Widen the tax net. Empower the institutions and remove their decay. Last but not least, learn to stand on our own feet instead of begging. Ask for trade not aid.