Mr Lesser, who is Professor of Marketing, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, was also of the opinion that the dispute resolution mechanism under WTO was not the most suitable for the developing world.

The system gave a lot of scope for delay, and in the worst case the final solution had to be worked out between the contending parties, he pointed out. The developed world could stonewall the initiatives from the developing world in such a situation, he said. But Prof Lesser also made it clear, that there was no other option before the developing countries, including India other than to open up their economies. It was obvious from the experience of India, a country of its size and rich resources and potential remained way down in the development ladder despite having a protected market.

``It seems to me that the protection of the last 50 years has only helped in creating inefficiency or stagnation in all areas of economic life,'' he said. According to Prof Lesser, the challenge before policy-makers was to reduce the painful impact to the minimum during the transition period.

And don't expect any radical changes in the global foodgrain supply-demand situation. ``The global population growth is expected to decline annually to one per cent, from the current level of 1.3 per cent by 2015 while grain production is expected to register a marginal increase of 1.5 per cent in the next 15 years. This clearly shows that marginal increase is not going to have any major impact on conditions of people, who go without food at present,'' he said.

Changes in the consumption pattern could have a serious impact on global availability of grain, he pointed out. A slight increase in meat consumption by China and India could have a serious impact on foodgrain availability, he said.

On the controversey about biotechnology (BT) and genetically modified (GM) food, Prof Lesser said in the long run there would be a trade-off between the potential benefits and possible health hazards. At present the BT is not a serious issue even in the US agri-scene. Perhaps the next generation BT crops may be able to make a better impact among the farmers, he said.

On the possibility of more US agri-business companies investing in the Indian agri-sector, Prof Lesser said major US companies were already here with the opening up of the economy, and a few others may also enter in the coming days. But there were number of grey areas in the policy especially for those interested in processed food sector.

On criticism of processed food replacing fresh food, he said ultimately the choice rested with the consumer. ``No government would be able to do anything in this regard, unless it is proved that something patently harmful to the society at large is taking place,'' he observed.