The net loser is the farmer

Biased, unfounded propaganda by the denigrators of the GM technology is prevailing over the sane, evidence-based opinion of the scientific community resulting in loss for farmers, writes Surinder Sud

The lingering controversy over the issue of genetically modified (GM) crops has flared up afresh, thanks to the permission granted for bio-safety trials of two indigenously developed strains of transgenic Bt-brinjal (eggplant), disregarding the moratorium imposed on such trials 10 years ago. However, this consent is of little consequence unless the ill-advised bar on the introduction of new GM products is also lifted. There is no indication of that as yet though Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other government officials keep harping on the need for science- and innovation-based development.

Bt-cotton, introduced way back in 2002, is the only transgenic crop allowed to be grown in India till now. Its merit was evident from the cotton revolution that it triggered. But even this success story has been jeopardised now because new gene-tweaked strains are not available to replace the time-worn Bt-cotton hybrids, which are gradually losing their vitality.

The Bt-brinjal varieties approved for field testing by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) recently are “Janak” and “BSS-793”. They contain an insect-killer gene Cry1Fa1 (event 142), derived from the soil-dwelling bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). The proteins produced by this gene in the digestive system of pests, especially shoot and fruit borers, prove lethal for them. These strains, developed at the National Institute for Plant Biotechnology (the erstwhile National Research Centre on Plant Biotechnology) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, have been licensed to Beejsheetal Research Pvt Ltd, Jalna, for further testing and commercialisation.

A notable point, however, is that the GEAC’s approval order lists many riders, some of which seem to have been added just for inconvenience’s sake. The regulator has specified eight states — Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal — for conducting these trials over the next three years. But the technology testers need to get separate no-objection certificates and confirmation of land availability from each of these states. Besides, the names of scientists conducting these trials have to be communicated to the GEAC. The results of the tests are to be shared with state biodiversity boards and, curiously, panchayat biodiversity management committees. What expertise the panchayat-level biodiversity panels have to peer-review the findings of these scientific exercises can be anybody’s guess. The intention, obviously, is to delay, if not thwart, the proceedings.

This is not the first time that this technology is facing such ploys. The Bt-brinjal developed earlier by Mahyco, the Indian offshoot of the multinational biosciences company Mon­santo, in collaboration with some state farm universities, was also made to go through numerous tests. The results were approved by the GEAC. Still, it was debarred from commercialisation in 2009 by the then environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, under pressure from the handful, but highly vocal, anti-GM lobbyists. The same GM brinjal was subsequently released for cultivation in Bangladesh and is performing exceedingly well there without hurting the environment or human health.

What the government is not realising is that the ultimate loser is the hapless farmer, who is needlessly denied the benefits of this highly useful technology. Ironically, the biased and unfounded propaganda by the denigrators of the GM technology is prevailing over the sane, evidence-based opinion of the scientific community. Remember, some 109 Nobel laureates from across the world had issued a joint statement in 2016, asking the anti-biotechnology lobby to stop bashing GM foods on “emotional, dogmatic and unfounded grounds”. They also pointed out that there had seldom been any confirmed case of a negative impact of GM products on the environment or human and animal health. GM foods and feed are being produced and consumed in many countries for a long enough time — since 1995 — to show the ill-effects by now.

India is also growing Bt-cotton since 2002. Its seeds are regularly fed to the livestock, whose milk is consumed by everybody. In recent years, the unapproved GM seeds of food crops like Bt-brinjal and Bt-mustard are also being cultivated illegally by farmers in many areas. That produce is getting mixed with non-GM products in the markets and eaten by unwary consumers. Therefore, the Bt gene is already an unalienable part of the human food chain and environment. But no harm has ensued from it.

The government and the anti-GM lobby should learn a lesson from the experience of Mark Lynas, a noted European environment activist. He spearheaded the anti-GM campaign in Europe till around 2008 but later turned around to become a staunch supporter of this technology on learning its true worth.

The parliament standing committee on science and environment, too, has favoured introducing GM crops after a critical scientific evaluation of their benefits and safety. The recommendation to this effect came in the panel’s report “Genetically modified crops and their impact on environment”, presented to parliament on August 25, 2017. More importantly, it mooted restructuring the biotechnology regulatory framework for an unbiased assessment of GM crops. Such prudent counsel from the all-party parliamentary panel merits acceptance and implementation.

surinder.sud@gmail.com