‘Biotechnology is an efficient scientific solution to increase crop productivity, enhance income for small farmers’
William D. Dar, Director General of International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), has said that biotechnology will pay an indispensable role in empowering the rural sector by helping increasing the food production multi-fold to meet the needs.
Speaking at a workshop organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) here on Friday, Dr. Dar said biotechnology was an efficient scientific solution to increase crop productivity, to enhance income for small farmers and to improve nutrition in developing countries such as India.
“India is facing a paradoxical situation where it has over 60 million tonnes of foodgrain reserves on one hand and about 42 per cent of the country’s children are malnourished on the other due to lack of nutritious food,” he observed. There was a need to overcome such a strange situation, he felt by stressing the need to move beyond Bt cotton and embrace GM food crops, which could contribute the fight against poverty enormously.
Project Director of National Research Centre on Plant Biotechnology P. Anand Kumar said two golden rice varieties with vitamin-A -- Swarna and Jaya would be tested in open fields in 2013 and the Bt pigeon pea and chickpea would be released for field trials in 3-4 years.
Dinesh Kumar of Directorate of Oilseeds Research, S. Sivakumar of ITC Agribusiness Division, S.V.R. Rao of Nuziveedu Seeds and several others spoke.
Keywords: Biotechnology, GM crops, ICRISAT, William D. Dar
what is important is not to create euphoria qua genetic engineering.
Let scientists and researchers do their research work on increasing the
productive capacity of food grain crops.with the changing climate it
becomes imperative that research should be made to make the crops
resilient.the scientists and researchers do they should keep in mind if
that will be beneficial for the poorest of the poor.
But organic forming must always be given upper hand as they are more
environment&farmer friendly.
The logical gap in the argument here is rather obvious :
“India is facing a paradoxical situation where it has over 60 million tonnes of
foodgrain reserves on one hand and about 42 per cent of the country’s children
are malnourished on the other due to lack of nutritious food"
Why is Biotechnology & embracing GM crops a solution to solve this problem ?
We don't need an immediate productivity increase, what we need is better
management and distribution. Biotechnology has other great uses to play,
especially in industrial sectors, enough of this bogus clamoring for the need for it
in agri sector.
ICRISAT is one institute out of 13 CGIAR which works for multinational companies interest [MNCs] and not for farmers interests. We all know as well ICRISAT scientists, GM seed do not increase yield over the non-GM seed. As the GM trait is introduced in to non GM seed only. We have seen the flight of farmers in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra & Gujarat the Bt-cotton seed -- increased the use of chemical inputs, adulterated seed, farmers suicides --. The area under cotton increased and thus major share of well irrigation is going for cotton. The government statistics on yields of GM and non-GM cotton is more or less the same. In the case of GM rice, it is going on for the past more than a decade. The yellow rice - golden rice -- with C-vitamin. The British scientist warned that the excess C-vitamin in golden rice create more health hazards -- more harm. Seed will be monopolized by MNCs similar to cotton. We have yellow sorghum, etc -- natives. Beware.
Indian scientists are divided on the biosafty issue of GM crops.Even Science Academies
could not give a scientific answer to the queries raised on the methodologies followed to
find out the biosafty both for man and his enviornement.There are no credible labs in India
under public sector to answer many issues raised.In USA the GM plants undergo 4 tests in
recognized laboratories and GM released for general testing and then to farmers.Man has
control on plants but no control on pests and diseases.Like any
organisms,insects,fungi,bacteria and viruses evolve for survival and virulent strains
appear.Monocropping over a larger area with GM plant varieties will expose the crop to
vulnerability of susceptibility.Intercropping with several crops and back yard growing of
poultry,rabbi try etc is a practice for livelihood security. Suitability of GM crops to such
situations needs research.Seeds / planting materials constitutes only 20 percent of
production.Let GM research continue to get answers.
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