Pakistan approves National Agricultural Biotechnology Policy 2025

Following the historic low cotton production in Pakistan, the government has prepared a three-year National Agricultural Biotechnology Policy 2025 to modernize the agricultural sector, which has been approved by the federal cabinet.

A few years ago, cotton production had fallen to just 5 million bales, the lowest level in the last 40 years, while in the past the average production was between 12 million and 15 million bales. The country’s textile industry requires about 16 million bales annually.

The cabinet was briefed that many countries in the world have already implemented policies on genetically modified (GM) crops, so a comprehensive biotechnology policy was indispensable for Pakistan too so that it could take advantage of modern agricultural technology and also protect itself from the risks associated with it.

According to the Ministry of National Food Security, Pakistan has great potential in the field of biotechnology, trained scientists and modern research centers are also available, but due to the lack of a clear policy, this sector could not be fully exploited.

This policy was prepared in October 2023 by experts from the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council and the National Seed Development and Regulatory Authority on the instructions of the Special Investment Facilitation Council. The federal cabinet approved it on December 4, 2025.