CUDDALORE:
Biotechnology cannot be a panacea for the problems confronting the agricultural sector. At the most it can be part of a solution, but, thus far it is being pushed in the wrong direction, said B.Vasantraj David, a leading pesticides scientist.
Biotechnology is being touted as the successor to chemicals as a miracle technology, a quick fix, rather than an integral part of a shift to sustainable agriculture. Mr. David was delivering a special address at the national workshop on “Paradigm shifts in research on crop resistance to pests” organised by the Department of Entomology of the Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai University, at Chidambaram on Thursday.
He said that the transgenic crops, however, had not found ready acceptance among the people at large. Biosafety concerns were the major reasons for non-adoption of transgenic crops in most countries. Mr. David, former national president of the Pesticides Association of India who has authored several books on pesticides, said that these concerns included transgene movement to other varieties and wild relatives leading to possible development of super weeds, erosion of genetic diversity and ecological disturbances. Similarly, there was widespread apprehension that transgene products could be toxic or allergenic to humans and animals. Also transgenic crops—pest resistant varieties—could have adverse impact on non-target organisms.
Emergence of more virulent forms of pests and pathogens was also an important concern. He pointed out that already some insect populations, e.g., diamondback moth, had become resistant to the Bt toxin after prolonged exposure. It meant that Bt would no longer be effective in controlling a particular pest population. Therefore, Mr. David who is currently president of the Sun Agro Biosystems Ltd, Chennai, said the traits to be altered and strategies to be adopted should be carefully considered to minimise the biosafety risks. He emphatically said that the transgenic crops should not be viewed in isolation, but, should form part of the overall national agricultural policy. It was imperative to prioritise the crops and traits to be engineered and strategies to be adopted, Mr. David added. P. Narayanasamy, Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, laid stress on increased productivity and reduced pesticide usage. The brinjal variety “Annamalai” released by the faculty was extensively grown in the State. He called upon the farm scientists to address the issues arising out of the proposed commercial usage of Bt. brinjal. J.S.Bentur, Principal Scientist from the Directorate of Rice Research, Hyderabad, D. Sundara Raju of the National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Insects, Bangalore, K.S. Mohan of the Monsanto Research Centre, Bangalore, B. Singaravelu of the Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, and others participated.
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