Development of transgenic food staples slow: World Bank

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New Delhi, Feb 17: The World Bank has expressed concerns over the slow progress in the development of transgenic food staples and called for the removal of related constraints.

It said that the transgenics or the genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have considerable potential for improving the productivity of smallholder farming systems and providing more nutritious foods to poor consumers in developing countries.

“The environmental, food safety, and social risks of transgenics are controversial and therefore transparent and cost-effective regulatory systems that inspire public confidence are needed to evaluate risks and benefits case by case,” it admitted.

In its World Development Report-2008, it noted, “While Bt cotton has been rapidly and successfully adopted in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, farmers in Andhra Pradesh initially experienced a loss, largely because of the use of poorly adapted varieties (hybrids).” In general, the report said that Indian farmers growing Bt cotton used less insecticides and gained significant yield increases.

The report, with its theme - Agriculture for Development - made a strong plea for commercial cultivation of Golden Rice. It said that in India alone, 0.2 to 1.4 million life-years could be saved annually through widespread consumption of Golden Rice and this would be more cost-effective than the current supplementary programme for vitamin A.

The World Bank said that while developing transgenics pro-poor traits and orphan crops have been neglected. Investments in R&D on transgenics are concentrated largely in the private sector, driven by commercial interests in industrial countries.

The public sector spending on R&D is much lower than the $1.5 billion spent each year by the four largest private companies.