The objective for the conference is to holistically discuss the opportunities and concerns related to enhanced use of biotechnology in agriculture and finalise recommendations for necessary and timely actions by Ministries of Agriculture, Science and Technology, Ministry of Environment and Planning Commission. CII also unveiled a report ‘Indian Biotech Agriculture Industry: Vision 2025′ during the conference.
During his inaugural address Krishna Byre Gowda, Minister of Agriculture, Government of Karnataka said that transformation of agriculture must be the top priority concern of our public policies including science and technology. According to him one of the ways to achieve the targeted growth of four per cent in agriculture as indicated in the 12th Five Year Plan period is to explore bio agriculture technologies. Indian bio agriculture sector is currently estimated at $7.8 billion (including crops produced from GM Technologies) which is poised to grow to an estimated amount of $25 billion by 2025.
Ashwin Shroff, Chairman, CII Sub Committee on Agri-Biotechnology and Chairman, Excel Crop Care emphasised the role of IT which played a significant role in the advancement of science in making this world a global village, helped put India on a world map, the agri-biotechnology in this century can play a equally significant role and again like in IT seizing opportunities available in agri-biotechnology and make its mark not only in India but also in the global scenario. Agri-biotechnology is a versatile tool, a powerful technology in varied applications which can play a wide ranging role in various dimensions of agriculture and food, be it soil and soil health, water, planting material, crop nutrition, crop protection, farm energy and last but not the least climate change.
Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairman, CII National Committee on Biotechnology and Chairman and Managing Director, Biocon reiterated that biotechnology is safe and its commercialisation does not pose any risks since it passes through a stringent regulatory process that takes more than five years for a product to hit the market. Agriculture is the root and heart of inclusive economic development and biotechnology has a key role to play in the sector as the second ‘Green Revolution’ in the country will be led by biotechnology.
Shaw stated that biotechnology is a precise and predictive technology, products like drought and saline resistant genes allow farmers to overcome natural disasters in a country where agriculture is largely dependent on natural resources. Today Bt Cotton has proven to be a boon to farmers and they will testify to that fact. She also highlighted the fact that it is the choice of the farmers whether they want to use Bt seeds or not and this should not be decided by an external body.
Dr K Narayana Gowda, Vice Chancellor, University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) said they are actively working on educating people on the various possibilities of biotechnology. They have conducted study classes for farmers in Bangalore and Mysore recently to clear the myths with respect to biotechnology. There is a vast potential for the sector in Indian agriculture which will help in improved yield and reduce the use of chemicals in farming. He called for some joint initiative to be taken along with CII to initiate further debates and discussions to clear the misconceptions on biotechnology.
According to Dr Deepak Pental, Former Vice Chancellor, University of Delhi, more than 42 per cent of India’s population will still depend on agriculture post 2050. He emphasised the fact that we need a renewed and focused approach to boot agricultural growth to seven to eight per cent. 170 million hectare of land is used worldwide for biotech farming which is more than the total area utilised for agriculture in India. He stressed on the need for universities to be allowed to conduct tests in biotechnology. Pental said that science and technology should be brought to the forefront of India’s agricultural sector.
On the last day, an interesting mix of topics including climate change, emerging and future technologies, regulatory policies and issues, myths prevailing among public and hence need for effective communication vis-à-vis biotechnology were discussed at length during the conference. The conference started with highlighting the emerging context and major issues facing humanity such as food security for an increasing population, declining farm productivity, limitations, both economical and ecological, of the tools used currently in agriculture along with climate change and food inflation and food quality and others.
Two dimensions of biotechnology’s potential for addressing these issues were discussed during the conference. The first set of issues were soil and soil productivity, planting material, crop nutrition, crop protection, water, energy needs, coping with adverse climate change etc and the second one, Genetically Modified (GM) crops.
A common consensus of the conference was the need for the Government to take stock of the current and emerging situation especially with respect to food security and take firm measures to promote new versatile technologies like biotechnology, while taking care of the interests and concerns of farmers,consumers and the environment. The need to constantly and effectively communicate the responsible and safe use of biotechnology by government agencies, academia and the private players was emphasised.
EP News Bureau – Mumbai