Enhancing mustard yields

Genetically tweaked variety can increase production. It would be unwise for India to deny its commercialisation

The environmental clearance granted by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) to the indigenously developed transgenic Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11 (DMH-11) needs to be viewed as another bid by this scientific advisory body to pave the way for the introduction of gene-altered food crops, which can revolutionise Indian agriculture. This committee, functioning under the environment ministry, had earlier approved this mustard hybrid for general cultivation in 2017 but the government had then blocked this move under pressure from the anti-genetic modification lobby, including the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), an affiliate of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s ideologue, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. This group, along with other opponents of the genetic engineering technology, has swung into action once again to thwart the commercialisation of DMH-11 mustard. However, thankfully, this time the environment ministry, even while refraining from ratifying the GEAC’s decision, has not vetoed it either. Agricultural science bodies, such as the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences, therefore, believe that the soil has now been prepared to carry out field tests, demonstration trials, and seed multiplication of DMH-11 in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the GEAC.
 

India, a net edible oil-deficit country, needs more productive strains of oilseeds to reduce its dependence on import, which at present is as high as 55-60 per cent of the consumption. It imported about 13.35 million tonnes of cooking oil at over Rs 1.17 trillion in 2020-21. Genetically modified (GM) mustard, which has been found to have a yield advantage of nearly 28 per cent over the available mustard varieties, can help substantially reduce the gap in the domestic demand and supply of edible oil.

Interestingly, the GEAC has also taken a few other significant decisions in its last meeting but they have been overshadowed by the controversy over GM mustard. It has granted permission for the field testing of four more genetically engineered crops, which include two food crops — potato and banana — and two commercial crops — rubber and cotton. New strains of Bt-cotton, the only GM crop that has formally been allowed to be grown in India since 2002, are badly needed to replace the existing ones that have outlived their useful life. No new Bt-cotton hybrid has been approved since the release of Bollgard-II in 2006 because of the ill-advised moratorium on the development of new GM products.
 

The DMH-11 has been developed at Delhi University’s (DU’s) Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants by a team of scientists headed by former DU vice-chancellor Deepak Pental with funding from the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). Its patent is also held jointly by the NDDB and DU. The SJM’s plea of DMH-11 being not a “swadeshi” (indigenous) product, therefore, does not hold true. Nor is this strain hazardous for the environment and human and animal health as has been confirmed through field testing. In fact, this hybrid has been released in Australia for general cultivation to take advantage of its high yield potential. The same had happened with the GM brinjal, which was developed in India but was adopted for cultivation by Bangladesh with good results and without any environmental or health hazards. It would, therefore, be unwise for India to repeat the same mistake by denying the commercialisation of genetically tweaked mustard.