Fumi-Gate: How Incompetent and Corrupt Officials at NAFSA and MNFSR Risk Pakistan’s Food Security for Personal Gain

Karachi: In a shocking betrayal of Pakistan’s agricultural and public health interests, senior officials at National Agri-Trade and Food Safety Authority (NAFSA), now redundant Department of Plant Protection (DPP) and Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFSR) have orchestrated a covert campaign to cripple Methyl Bromide (MeBr) fumigation — a critical quarantine treatment vital to thwart entry and spread of foreign broad spectrum biosecurity risks – insects, disease causing plant pathogens, weed seeds, soil, plant debris – in the county for protecting the nation’s food security and export reputation. This campaign indicates collusion with vested interests and mafias aiming to eliminate fumigation services and line their pockets, all while jeopardizing the health, safety, and economic future of millions of Pakistanis.

The MNFSR and NASFA officials responsible for these reckless actions are not merely incompetent but also non-qualified. Several top officials, including the present Director Technical Quarantine & Pesticides Registration, faced FIRs and arrest over allegedly issuing biosecurity clearance to infested soybean cargoes at a cost of public health causing massive loss to natural resources, environment and domestic agriculture. Multiple investigations, those by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), have uncovered abuse of authority, collusion of few senior and junior officials NAFSA with various mafias and widespread corruption and registered three criminal cases. Continuing this tradition and in cahoots with vested interests, the current leadership, including the current non-technical & deputationist Director General from Customs, and the top bureaucrats at the Ministry of National Food Security have pressed ahead with altogether banning the use of fumigation with MeBr for all the imported and exported agricultural products based on pick and choose irrelevant, illegal and non-qualified committee for pesticides instead of National Biosecurity Technical Committee (NBTC) & National Plant Health Committee (NPHC), mandated for such reviews.

Risking Public Health, Food Security, and Exports for Private Profit

The consequences of these malafide actions are grave. By halting MeBr imports and fumigation, the DPP NAFSA and MoNFS&R have compromised Pakistan’s ability to prevent invasive pests—biosecurity risks— from entering and spreading — a failure that will almost certainly lead to increased crop losses, pesticides imports, food price inflation, and export bans and non-fulfilment of phytosanitary import conditions of Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, USA, Russia, Thailand, Korea, Mexico etc. The rice, sesame and corn export sector have already lost billions due to previous quarantine lapses during last six months and now faces further peril as fumigation services dwindle.

Meanwhile, exporters face delays and rising costs as uncertified cargoes pile up at ports with no competent agency to clear them despite MoNFS&R has unlawfully appointed inexperience officials from Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) and Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC) in absolute defilements of international treaties (WTO SPS Agreement recognized bodies International Plant Protection Convention & Codex Alimentarius). Industry insiders warn that Pakistan is losing ground to competitors like India, Thailand, Philippines and Bangladesh, where MeBr use is being carefully applied to disinfest the imported and exported agricultural commodities because of lack of feasible alternatives to control broad spectrum pests until feasible alternatives are not only developed but also approved by IPPC. Montreal Protocol and IPPC exempts MeBr from quarantine and preshipment purpose (QPS) to protect poor countries whose economy are based on export of agricultural products from non-compliance of currently developed and approved but infeasible phytosanitary treatment alternatives of MeBr i.e., heat treatment, controlled atmospheric treatment, Irradiation treatment which can be trade barrier for them to export their produce to developed nation which excepts only MeBr other than infeasible alternative. NAFSA and MoNFS&R reckless policies are isolating Pakistan regionally and globally, risking permanent damage to its agri-trade credibility.

This NAFSA and MoNFS&R lack technical expertise required to formulate policy in this field. The arrogant overriding of established agricultural pesticide advisory committees and international protocols, pushing through MB-related policies without transparent consultations or scientific evidence reeks of malafide intent and raises concerns of corrupt practices.