Member on GM crops panel flays moratorium on field trials

R S Paroda, the lone voice of dissent in the Supreme Court-appointed Technical Expert Committee (TEC) on genetically-modified (GM) crops, has severely criticised the committee's recommendations to uphold a moratorium on field trials of GM crops, sources said. Paroda's view is that if the suggestions are accepted, two decades of research on GM crops done by the public institutions in India will go waste.

Officials in the know said Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar is expected to make a strong pitch on Tuesday for adopting GM crops and allowing field trials of GM crops in Parliament, a day after the Lok Sabha adopted the National Food Security Bill. Pawar has been saying GM crops should be adopted without any hitch to ensure long-term food security for the nation.

According to officials, Paroda, who is a former director of Indian Council of Agriculture Research, has said in his submission that confined filed trials of crops is a must to evaluate its superiority against other crops since field conditions cannot be simulated under controlled conditions.

Paroda was appointed after agriculture expert V L Chopra declined to be on the panel. Favouring the field trials of GM crops, Paroda said that India's regulatory system has to be rigorous and efficient. He added that the threats to environmental and biodiversity loss due to cultivation of GM crops, as mentioned in the interim report of the TEC, are grossly exaggerated.

Paroda is of the view that institutions such as the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) and the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) should work hand-in-hand to coordinate and monitor field trials of GM crops as has been the case during Bt cotton.

He has also suggested it would not be advisable to set up a single institution for all biosafety tests, instead of network of laboratories be established.

In its report, the TEC has reportedly said that field trials should not be allowed as there is no definite information on long-term safety of Bt on food crops.

Officials said the TEC -- comprising experts in the fields of molecular biology, toxicology, nutrition science, biodiversity and agriculture science -- in its final report has also recommended any commercial release GM crops for which India is a centre of origin or diversity, should not be allowed. Crops such as brinjal, okra etc. fall under this category.