More Genetically Modified (GM) crops are in the offing and some of them have even completed field trials. Crops like Bacillus Thuringiensis (BT) and Herbicide Tolerant (HT) maize, late blight-resistant potato, golden rice, drought tolerant corn, mustard hybrids and high-yielding crops are in the advanced stage of testing whereas Bt brinjal has already completed field tests, approved by the regulatory authorities but not yet been released by the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
More and more developing countries are coming forward to experiment with GM crops. While eight developed countries are cultivating GM crops, the number of developing countries cultivating it has reached 20. India is the fifth in terms of area under cultivation of GM crops with a total area of 10.8 million hectares in 2012, next to USA, Brazil, Argentina and Canada.
These issues came to light at the workshop on ‘Safety Assessment of Genetically Modified crops’ held at International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in association with Biotech Consortium India Limited (BCIL). More than 80 participants from 11 countries participated in the workshop.
Addressing the workshop, P. Ananda Kumar, Director, Institute of Agri Bio-Technology, said that GM crops promise a bright future and production of 38 billion bales of cotton production was made possible only with the technology. He has also stressed the need for developing virus-resistant vegetables.
Dr. B. Sesikeran, former Director, National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) and Chairman, Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM) said that Indian food safety standards were based on the best international practices, and were in accordance with the principles and guidelines of Codex Alimentarius. Dr. Rajeev Varshney, Research Programme Director, ICRISAT, said that as many as 9.5 billion people will need to be fed by 2045.
BCIL director Vibha Ahuja said that all steps are being put in place to identify and evaluate risks.
More and more developing countries are coming forward to experiment with GM crops. While eight developed countries are cultivating GM crops, the number of developing countries cultivating it has reached 20. India is the fifth in terms of area under cultivation of GM crops with a total area of 10.8 million hectares in 2012, next to USA, Brazil, Argentina and Canada.
These issues came to light at the workshop on ‘Safety Assessment of Genetically Modified crops’ held at International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in association with Biotech Consortium India Limited (BCIL). More than 80 participants from 11 countries participated in the workshop.
Addressing the workshop, P. Ananda Kumar, Director, Institute of Agri Bio-Technology, said that GM crops promise a bright future and production of 38 billion bales of cotton production was made possible only with the technology. He has also stressed the need for developing virus-resistant vegetables.
Dr. B. Sesikeran, former Director, National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) and Chairman, Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM) said that Indian food safety standards were based on the best international practices, and were in accordance with the principles and guidelines of Codex Alimentarius. Dr. Rajeev Varshney, Research Programme Director, ICRISAT, said that as many as 9.5 billion people will need to be fed by 2045.
BCIL director Vibha Ahuja said that all steps are being put in place to identify and evaluate risks.
No comments:
Post a Comment