The announcement by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests for allowing over 200 transgenic crops for field trails has suddenly intensified rift between biotechnology companies and protesting non-governmental organizations (NGOs) once again.
A day after agriculture minister Sharad Pawar pitched for field trails, environment minister M Veerappa Moily gave his go ahead to the move. With this, seed companies and agriculture research institutes in India can go ahead with scientific filed trials of different transgenic varieties of GM crops that had obtained clearance from the regulatory body - Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC).
Agri crops like rice, wheat, sorghum (jowar), groundnut, corn, potato, tomato, cabbage, cauliflower, okra, brinjal, mustard, watermelon, papaya and sugarcane are some of the many genetically modified crops presently awaiting approval in India. In fact, research oriented companies like Monsanto and Mahyco are working overtime with investments worth millions of dollars to discover a breakthrough in crop resistance diseases to improve productivity and feed growing population of the world.
A Monsanto spokesperson said, “Agriculture research is an intensive multi-year process. Timing of decisions with respect to trials is critical given the seasonal nature and monsoon dependence. Currently, investment worth around Rs 10,000 crore has already been made by researchers in agriculture biotechnology in India. Functioning of the GEAC in a timely manner will enable research trials in the forthcoming kharif season making possible evaluation of technologies and their relevance to our farmers and their needs.”
Supporting the move, Raju Barwale, Managing Director of Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company Ltd (Mahyco) that invested around Rs 100 crore on research and development (R&D) of Bt brinjal before the government put its commercialization on moratorium, said, “The Ministry’s announcement is positive and will foster innovation and growth for the agri-biotech industry in India. The decision will certainly help in taking forward the ongoing R&D work on various transgenic crops.”
Adoption of well researched technologies such as transgenic crops are essential to address various farm challenges, improve productivity and the livelihoods of farmers and ultimately contribute to country’s economy. With shrinking cultivable land due to rapid urbanization, newer diseases, pests attack, increasing drought situation and salinity of land, it is crucial for the country like India to embrace technology advancement in agriculture to address these challenges to feed the food requirement of the growing population in the future. In absence of field trials for transgenic crops, it will be difficult to take forward the research and development from laboratories to field to see the real potential of the technology.
| Countrywise share of the world’s 3.4% agri land under GM | |
| Country | Area (%) |
| USA | 40.8 |
| Brazil | 21.4 |
| Argentina | 14.03 |
| Canada | 6.8 |
| India | 6.3 |
| China | 2.34 |
| Other 22 countries | 8.33 |
| Source : Food and Agricultural Organisation, United Nations | |
A study published by Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, a Hyderabad based organization, showed that multiple animal studies show significant immune dysregulation, including upregulation of cytokines (protein molecules involved in immune responses) associated with asthma, allergy, and inflammation. Until the possible links to illnesses such as cancer, kidney, liver failure, allergies and organ damage are conclusively disproved transgenic crops should never be allowed for commodities used directly for human consumption, and that too in unprocessed form. The two major GM crops, soy and maize, mostly go into animal feed, biofuels and processed human food.
“Many countries in Europe, Middle East and other developed countries have shown their dislike for GMO seeds as they feel not enough work has been done to establish the long term ecological impact of these GMO seeds especially on the environment and human health. This divide in the world has led to believe in alternate solutions in the form of intrgenic and cisgenic that is gaining wider acceptance and appreciation from global farming community due to its safer technological process,” said Santosh Nair, CEO, Camson Biotechnologies Ltd.
| Views surround transgenic crops | ||
| Crop | In favour | Against |
| Rice | Improve productivity | Hybrid seed enough to increase productivity |
| Wheat | Drought trait | Improve irrigation system |
| Sorghum (jowar) | Newer disease control | Enough pesticides available |
| Groundnut | Falling area under cultivation | Increase acreage |
| Corn | Huge opportunity | GM no solution |
| Potato | Prone to pest attack | Monitoring and surveillance important |
| Tomato | Increase output | Post harvest care needed |
| Okra (lady’s finger) | Seasonal crop | Improve post harvest care |
| Brinjal | Cotton success story can be repeated | Cotton yield declined to pre-GM level |
| Mustard | Use Bt cotton oil and cake | Govt must ban |
Looking at its complexity, its adoption throughout the world has been low. Seventeen years after its introduction, only 3.4% or 170 million ha of the world's agricultural land of 5 billion ha is sown with GM seed and 62% of this is in the United States and Brazil. Only four crops - soy, corn, cotton and canola - account for 99% of GM crops worldwide. Yet, in India, 17 GM crops are presently awaiting approval and many more are in the pipeline.
Ram Kaundinya, Chairman of ABLE-AG and managing director of Advanta Seeds, said, “Field trials - it lays out a rigid set of protocols for the private and public sector players - are needed to ensure that the efficacy of the Genetically modified seeds are scientifically evaluated and apprehensions over perceived risks allayed. India has made good progress in agriculture but possibly not good enough. Biotech trials ongoing in India concerning crops like corn, rice, vegetables or other crops are being pursued under strict Indian regulatory guidelines at par with global standards. Application of Biotechnology in agriculture is safe, effective and widely used by more than 16 million farmers around the world.”
Noted agri scientist who pioneered transgenic seed in rice in India - Dr C D Mayee - however, feels the conduct of field trials will boost the morel of technology driven companies.
Hard facts
· Total global land under agriculture – 5 billion ha
· Area under GM crops – 170 million ha
· Percentage of agri land under GM – 3.4%
· 30 countries produce GM crops either for research or commercial production
· 17 countries do not have any food safety
· 55 countries have zero-tolerance policy for unauthorized GM crops
· 38 countries consider the different policies on GMOs (genetically modified organisms)
