GM crops need of the hour, say experts

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Genetically Modified (GM) seeds are the need of the hour to bolster farm production in the face of rising demand, and a way to match productivity of countries such as China and Vietnam, according to food scientists and experts here. With GM crops seen with suspicion by most, the scientists said there is an inherent lack of awareness about its advantages among people.

Emphasising the need to adopt technical know-how, Dr N. Sesikiran, director, National Institute of Nutrition, said, “Nature has evolved by continuous genetic modification. Tonnes of tomatoes are lost every year because they can’t be stored for long. But now there is technology, which can increase the shelf life of tomatoes. We just have to make use of it.”

Citing the success of Bt-cotton, Dr Dwarkesh Parihar, chief scientist at Shriram Bioseeds, said people have not been informed and educated comprehensively about the advantages of Bt-crops, which has led to suspicion about its perceived ill-effects. “Sometimes there are unsubstantiated reports, and subsequently a controversy arises,” he said. “Bt-cotton was seen as the reason for death of goats in the state sometime ago, but it was later found that was not the case.” He said Bt-brinjal is safe for human consumption and the environment.

While experts admitted there are risks associated with every new technology, they said the level of risk is the criterion on which a technology should be judged. They said perceived risks, unlike actual risks, have no basis and can never be answered. Dr Parihar said this perceived risk is keeping Bt-brinjal from being commercialised.

Stressing that there is no evidence to prove that GM crops cause cancer, Dr Sesikiran said, “North America has adopted GM crops and some European countries haven’t, but cancer rates are almost the same in these countries.” India cannot resist GM crops due to the increasing demand for foodgrain in the country, he said. Also pitching for GM crops, Mr Raghav Rao, managing director, Kohinoor Hatcheries, said, “We have to increase farm productivity, especially production of pulses. Crops can be genetically modified to tolerate drought and salinity, and can have improved nutritional value and resist diseases.”