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| Ready for Bt-brinjal | | Gene manipulation with bio-tech tools can address some challenges before agriculture, and we should have foolproof testing & approval processes |
| Business Standard / New Delhi May 25, 2009, 00:55 IST |
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Amidst unrelenting opposition from environmentalists and consumer activists, the gene-altered hybrid of a widely consumed vegetable, the brinjal or egg plant, developed by the Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco), seems set to get the government’s approval for commercial cultivation. Some state agricultural universities and other organisations which have been closely associated with the evolution and field testing of the transgenic Bt-brinjal, are said to be already holding seed stocks for sale to farmers as soon as the approval for doing so is received from the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), the apex regulatory body for all genetically modified crops. Meanwhile, those opposed to transgenic crops carrying genes borrowed from alien, including non-plant, sources, have had their taste of success too. Their efforts, together with the Supreme Court’s intervention, have served the useful purpose of making the regulator extra cautious in evaluating the health and bio-safety aspects of Bt-brinjal. Several new tests, not conducted on the hugely successful Bt-cotton before its clearance for cultivation, were prescribed for Bt-brinjal to appraise its toxicity and allergenicity as well as nutritional aspects. Such caution was well advised because this will be the first transgenic food crop to get approval for commercial cultivation. Though it contains the same cry1Ac gene sourced from a soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis, which has been incorporated in Bt-cotton, there is the vital difference that cotton is not directly consumed by people or animals. Though cottonseed and seed meal are fed to cattle, brinjal is consumed directly and, thus, poses some additional risks that needed to be addressed.
The protests against Bt-brinjal have served another objective as well. They have led to greater transparency in the evaluation process and with regard to the data collected during the trials, which was not the case in Bt-cotton. Besides, the trials have been conducted either by state agricultural universities, notably those located in Coimbatore and Dharwad, or under the supervision of the Varanasi-based Indian Institute of Vegetable Research (IIVR), a wing of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). That plugs much of the scope for impropriety in evaluation and data collection.
If, despite all this, there still are objections, these too need to be addressed. But if the GEAC and the expert committee are fully satisfied, the new genetically modified seeds should be granted permission for commercialisation without delay. What needs to be realised is that Mahyco has shared its Bt-brinjal technology with public research institutes in the Philippines and Bangladesh as well and they too are awaiting Indian approval before commercialising their products. The even larger issue is that such an approval would pave the way for the clearance of many other transgenic crops that are being developed in the private and public sectors in India. The country’s premium farm research institute, the New Delhi-based Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), has also reportedly developed a Bt-brinjal by using a different Bt gene, Cry1Ab. A gene-altered potato with higher protein content is also said to be almost ready. In fact, various ICAR institutes are working on evolving genetically modified strains of at least 14 crops to enable them to withstand various kinds of stresses like pests and diseases, drought, heat, cold, salinity and the like. Today, gene manipulation with bio-technological tools has come to be viewed as the most significant way of addressing some of the challenges before agriculture. All the more reason why there should be a foolproof testing process, and approval given once all doubts are cleared.
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