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3.107. The Pakistan National Accreditation Council (PNAC) is a full member of the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and the International Accreditation Forum (IAF), and a signatory member of the Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (APAC). PNAC has achieved Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) signatory status for testing and calibration laboratories from ILAC and Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA) signatory status for quality management systems, environment management systems, and product certifications from the IAF. (...)

3.111. Under the legislation, import of any seed, including cotton seed, requires a permit (Controlled Import Permit) from the Department of Plant Protection (DPP). For first-time imports of cotton seed, the DPP allows a maximum quantity of 1 kg. After importation, the DPP tests for invasive and alien biosecurity risks in a DPP approved post-entry quarantine facility for one crop season. If the seed variety is cleared, the seed can be put through Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department (FSCRD) trials prior to registration and entry in the Federal Seed Register. Once registered, seeds can be imported on a commercial basis. If the importable cotton seed is characterized as either a living modified organism (LMO) or a genetically modified organism (GMO), a licence from the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency is also required. The National Biosafety Committee under the Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC) evaluates application for import of LMO or GMO.

3.112. Pakistan has ratified the Cartagena Protocol of Biosafety, which came into force in May 2009. Pakistan maintains a framework of handling GMOs and LMOs, which requires: (i) that the importation is only made for research and experimentation purposes; (ii) a valid licence from the Pakistan Environmental Agency, and (iii) that the importer maintains a post entry quarantine facility duly approved by the Department, (which shall be open to an authorized officer in the event of research or experiments for inspection, and compliance audit at any reasonable time and importation is made from the countries that maintain regular plant quarantine, inspection, testing, and certification services). These rules are also stipulated in the Pakistan Biosafety Rules 2005, which also govern requirements for domestic genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and living modified organisms (LMOs).

4.2 (...) Pakistan relies heavily on imported energy, particularly oil and gas. The Government had decided to stop building new coal-fired power plants, which according to the authorities is not the current policy objective, and to increasing the share of renewable energy. State-owned enterprises (SOEs) continue to play a major role in the energy sector. (...)

4.11. Large amounts of agricultural production and the continuously increasing population place high demands on Pakistan's water resources. At present, the annual per capita availability of water is estimated at about 1,100 cubic metres, still higher than the 1,000 cubic-metre threshold for countries to be considered as experiencing chronic water stress. About 90% of Pakistan's water resources is used for agriculture, while the remaining share is split equally between industry and domestic use. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Pakistan has the world's largest contiguous irrigation system with almost 80% of the cultivated area irrigated.

Table 4.3. Agriculture Transformation Plan:
Interventions: (...)
Second generation:
(...); Target sectors: Crop zoning, Land consolidation, Organic farming (...)

4.32. Export prohibitions are in place for pulses of all sorts, gram and gram flour, sugar, and wood timber. Export of livestock has been banned since 2013. According to the authorities, this is to ensure food security, conserve the genetic pool of livestock in the country (...)

Table 4.4. Domestic agricultural support notified to the WTO, Marketing year 2015/16:
Green Box assistance; Value (USD million):
(...)
Infrastructural services: (...)
Flood control; 1.8:
On farm water management, 38.36
(...)

4.39. In the FY2019/20 Budget, the Government announced a new crop insurance scheme. It also announced a five-year programme to improve the agriculture sector by budgeting PKR 280 billion on projects such as building water conservation infrastructure, implementing livestock initiatives, and increasing crop yields. (...)

4.43. Crop production has been facing challenges including insufficient irrigation, limited adoption of modern farming techniques, various plant pests, inadequate storage facilities, low-quality seeds, farm fragmentation, and natural disasters. During the review period, agriculture was severely affected by locust infestation, the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and low-tech infrastructure (low R&D) effects.