Pakistan plans to educate its farmers to grow GM crops

Date:11-04-2011

Pakistan's country leader, Aamir Mahmood Mirza while talking to a group of agricultural experts has planned to set up a 'learning centre' to educate the growers about advantages and benefits of genetically modified crops.

For this purpose, it plans to convert its Manga Mandi research farm into a learning centre to create awareness amongst the farmers about the advantages of the crops.

Aamir Mahmood said to a group of agricultural experts, which visited Monsanto's Manga Mandi Farm the other day to witness the results of field trials of Genetically Modified Corn.

He said that trials are being carried out by the company in Pakistan before its commercial sale and large-scale plantation after the approval from the authorities concerned.

Experts expressed their satisfaction over the progress of the GM corn field trials Monsanto officials pointed out that that GM corn could increase the productivity of corn, an important food crop after wheat and rice, in Pakistan and bring more reliable and cost-effective solutions.

Monsanto's GM corn variety having resistance against weeds and insect are termed as yield saving varieties due to which farmers get an incremental benefit.