Seeds of confusion seem to be entering the country?s agri-biotech sector. No sooner did the biotech regulator, Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, give its go ahead for the commercial release of Bacillus thuringiensis brinjal (Bt brinjal) last December, scientists and environment activists are engaged in a war of words. While the scientific community swears by the genetically modified (GM) crop?s superior agronomic performance, environment activists are vociferous and argue that such experimental foods should be kept away from the market as far as possible.
The country?s apex court, the Supreme Court, has also jumped in the fray, asking the government to detail the steps it has put in place to protect India?s traditional crops from possible contamination by field trials of genetically modified seeds. In the wake of the raging debate, the government appears to have taken a cautious path?the contentious crop is under consideration for commercial release by the ministry of environment and forests and a final decision is expected to come only by the end of next month. ?A final decision on the approval of Bt brinjal was yet to be taken,? remarked Jairam Ramesh, minister of state for environment and forests.
The entire controversy has also cast a doubt on prospects for other crops like cabbage, castor, cauliflower, corn, groundnut, okra, potato, rice and tomato, which are undergoing field trials in the country. The question foremost on the minds of agricultural scientists is this: Do GM crops have a bleak future in India?
While it might be far fetched to predict such an outcome, one thing is for sure: their introduction in the agriculture mainstream certainly seems poised for an inordinate delay.
A look at the key concerns first. Environment activists claim Bt brinjal produces a protein that induce antibiotic resistance. It also appears to have less calories and different alkaloid content compared to non-GM brinjal. The transgene transfer to local and hybrid varieties of brinjal will effectively destroy the country?s brinjal diversity. In addition, adequate chronic toxicity studies including carcinogenicity studies have not been conducted, activists claim.
Brinjal, also known as egg plant, is an important vegetable and is the second largest consumed vegetable in India, along with tomato and onion. It is planted on 0.5 million hectare by 1.4 million small and resource poor farmers. India produces 26% of the total 32 million tonne of the worldwide brinjal production; China leads with 56%.
Incidently, Bt brinjal is India?s first biotech vegetable crop and its supporters have been working hard on building a strong case for it, touting its superior agronomic performance. This is because fruit and shoot borer (FSB) disease causes significant marketable yield losses up to 60 to 70% in a crop season, estimates agri biotech industry body, the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA). On its part, Bt brinjal is claimed to effectively control FSB, with 98% insect mortality in the plant shoots and almost 100% in fruits. It also requires 80% less insecticides to control FSB and 42% less for control of all insect-pests of brinjal.
Without any doubt, there is a unique role for technology in agriculture in the Indian scenario?be it high-yielding seeds with better inherent genetic potential, combined with biotech-enabled insect protection, stress tolerance, and better weed management to protect productivity or yields. Gyanendra Shukla, director, corporate affairs at Monsanto India says, ?We believe innovations in agriculture technology and partnerships can help India increase yields sustainably and be a key contributor for meeting the challenges of food security, as well as boost productivity in both food and fibre crops.?
Biotech crops offer advantages such as in-built protection against pests and other stresses like drought etc. They have been widely adopted globally for over a decade now and in 2008, 13.3 million farmers across 25 countries planted 125 million hectares of biotech crops. India?s experience with biotech crops has been successful. Within six years of introduction of Bt cotton, farmers have made India the world?s second largest producer and second largest exporter of cotton (after China) by doubling cotton production to 315 lakh bales in 2007-08 from 136 lakh bales in 2002-03; adding Rs 20,400 crore (2002-07) to India?s GDP, in addition to pesticide savings thus minimising the impact on the environment.
Bolstered by the cotton success story, agricultural scientists reiterate that Indian farmers have the potential to replicate this in other crops as well. At present, 24 universities, 37 research institutions and 45 private sector companies are conducting agri-biotech research and development in 30 crops in traits related to tolerance to insects, fungal, bacterial, viral diseases; drought; nutritional factors; hybrid production; salinity and alkalinity.
Recently, an association of biotechnology scientists, Foundation for Biotechnology Awareness and Education (FBAE) appealed to the Centre to approve Bt brinjal for commercial cultivation without further delay for the benefit of Indian farmers and consumers. ?Delay in commercialisation of Bt brinjal will promote its clandestine cultivation as it happened with Bt cotton in Gujarat which is detrimental to the interests of the country,? says C Kameshwara Rao, executive secretary, FBAE.
While those in favour of Bt brinjal point out that the crop has passed through extensive agronomic and bio-security evaluation, opponents allege that the risks far exceed the benefits.
VR Kaundinya, managing director and global CEO of seed production company, Advanta India, says that science should be the only basis for GM approvals. ?While it is natural for people to have apprehensions when a new technology comes, we should have faith in the system that puts these technologies through rigorous protocols before giving the approval,? he emphasises.
Nevertheless, efforts are on to boost transgenic crops by international organisations, such as International Crops Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in the country. ICRISAT has construed a platform on transgenic crops, called platform for translational research on transgenic crops (PTTC). This is a department of biotechnology (DBT) project with a funding commitment of Rs 26 crore for five years (2008-2013). It aims to strengthen transgenic research for crop improvement by providing a platform and building synergies among institutions.
?We have identified a dozen crops. We have transgenic technologies for groundnut which are virus-resistance, drought-tolerant and fungal resistant. Besides, we also have golden peanut which are vitamin A fortified. However, they have to pass through the safety trials. We plan to give these GM technologies free of cost to small entrepreneurs and reach the farmers,? reveal ICRISAT scientists. ?The introduction of technologies that would help us break out of the current phase of stagnating productivity in our major food crops is an imperative rather than an option,? says KK Narayanan, managing director, Metahelix Life Sciences.
Still, the development of genetically modified brinjal and its subsequent regulatory approval has caused a raging debate in the country and it will take a while for it to subside.
