EDITORIAL: Generally modified

Research must be ramped up. Farmers need GM

So much alarmist pseudo-science is still in the air that a one-year delay in gaining permission for large-scale field trials in India of genetically modified brinjal appears just the blink of the eye. The go-ahead by the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, the country’s apex regulatory body, to Mahyco to test Bt brinjal also addresses many concerns about public safety.

It is therefore expected that forthcoming requests for field tests of other food crops like rice, okra, tomatoes and other varieties of GM brinjal will be swiftly obtained. The GEAC has specified that field trials are not to be conducted on farmer-owned lands and will take place under the scrutiny of specified institutions. This is abundant caution, in case of unforeseen consequences by cross-pollination.

The case for India’s research and regulatory regime for GM crops to be more responsive cannot be overstated. One, we still know too little about how GM crops could affect specific environments. Therefore, when we see that farmers in countries like the United States, Argentina and, to a lesser extent, China are finding it more viable to commercially grow GM crops like cotton, soya bean and maize, the seeds cannot be instantly made available to our farmers. Trials have to be conducted locally, and the slow clearance regime only delays the process further.

Two, state-initiated research in GM crops in India is paltry, with most result-oriented work coming from private companies and foreign institutions. The state bears a responsibility to undertake work on, for instance, crops specific for rainfed areas — perhaps higher-yield coarse grains or less water-consuming varieties of other crops.Much of rural India is still dependent in some way on agriculture as a source of livelihood. Increasing income can no longer come by increasing the area under cultivation — because there is now very little cultivable land lying fallow.

It has to be done by increasing productivity and by minimising the farmer’s probability of losing his crop, especially in the absence of crop insurance. According to one estimate, the annual loss of brinjal crop — planted on small holdings — due to fruit and shoot borers is Rs 900 crore. The 21st century is said to be the biotech century. India’s farmlands still await its full benefits.