GM crops may double agri growth rate

India can replicate the success of BT cotton in other agricultural produce, including vegetables and food grain for sustaining the country’s future food and nutritional security, as the genetically modified (GM) crops have the capacity to double agriculture growth rate to 4 per cent per annum from the present rate which is around 2 per cent.

“Until 2001, our cotton production was largely stagnant. However, post BT cotton’s launch in 2002, the output has doubled and on Friday India is the second largest producer and exporter of cotton,” All India Crop Biotechnology Association (AICBA) director Sajiv Anand told Business Standard on Friday.

BT (Bacillus Thuringiensis) cotton is a GM crop, which gives superior yield and almost 80 per cent of the Indian farmers on Friday grow this variety. He maintained it would become imperative to use GM technology in other crops to feed the population in future.

“Not only GM varieties give more yield, they are disease-resistant, have more nutritional value and shelf-life and are eco-friendly as they need less pesticide,” Anand underlined.

AICBA is an industry association of major Indian companies engaged in agriculture biotechnology. It was formed in 2003 to promote the benefits of agri-biotechnology for modernising Indian agriculture.

The Association actively works with all stakeholders including the regulators, farmers, scientists and media for advocating the cause of GM technology. Commenting on the growing debate in India over the safety and sustainability of GM food, the crop scientist said the fears were unfounded and lacked any scientific base.

“Any GM technology is introduced after a thorough research of seven years and after getting the go-ahead from several departments, including health, environment and forest. Besides, these technologies have been successfully adopted in several developed economies with encouraging results,” Anand added.

The GM technology only needs to be adapted to suit India conditions and requirements, he said informing that GM brinjal, tomato, cauliflower, mustard, maize, rice and wheat varieties could soon be launched in India as research was on.