When seeds become a strategic risk

A major structural change is quietly reshaping Pakistan's rice economy – one with consequences far deeper than seasonal prices or export statistics suggest. Across Punjab, including traditional Basmati zones, Chinese hybrid rice is rapidly replacing open-pollinated varieties. What is often presented as progress driven by higher yields is, in reality, evolving into a serious policy failure with implications for food security, export sustainability and agricultural sovereignty. Hybrid rice has spread rapidly beyond non-Basmati belts and is now encroaching upon prime Basmati lands. The effects are already visible. Pakistan's Basmati export surplus is shrinking – not because international demand has weakened, but because domestic production is no longer keeping pace.