Islamabad: The Standing Committee on National Food Security and Research convened today in Islamabad to discuss significant amendments to the Seed (Amendment) Bill, 2024, aiming to strengthen regulations around the agriculture sector, specifically targeting the proliferation of counterfeit seeds.
According to National Assembly of Pakistan, the meeting, held under the chairmanship of Syed Tariq Hussain, Member of National Assembly, was pivotal in progressing the legislative framework essential for the agriculture sector’s integrity. The Minister for National Food Security and Research, Rana Tanveer Hussain, noted that while one provincial government has approved the Bill, a consensus from all provincial assemblies is required under Article 144 of the Constitution before it becomes law.
Key recommendations from the committee included setting stringent qualifications for the Chairman of the authority overseeing the seed sector, advocating for a minimum of 10 years of relevant experience and a Master’s degree. Additionally, the committee proposed severe penalties for selling counterfeit seeds, with imprisonment ranging from two to seven years and fines between 500,000 to 2 million PKR.
The committee also discarded the “savings” clause related to expenses by the Authority during the lapse of the Ordinance and pushed for a new compensation clause to ensure that affected farmers could seek reparation. Furthermore, they advised that the Authority should not independently raise funds and that its rules of business should be established swiftly within two months following the Bill’s enactment.
The session was attended by several notable members of the Standing Committee, including Mr. Rasheed Ahmad Khan, Rana Muhammad Hayat Khan, Ms. Musarrat Asif Khawaja, and others, alongside senior officers from the Ministry of National Food Security and Research.