Relevance of GM technology of Indian Agriculture and Food Security - Adv.

Manohar Parchure

The multinational companies like Monsanto and Cargill are extremely concerned about the growing population of the developing countries like Indian and China who together account for 35 % of the world population. They have therefore decided top conduce research for improving the productivity of our agriculture. In fact they have been helping the Indian farmer by providing him with various hybrid seeds, pesticides, herbicides and now GM seeds to enable him to improve his per hectare yield no matter what it costs and also no matter whether his soil gets ruined. They have further assured him of regular supply of theses inputs and the Government of India has agreed to subsidize the farmers if the cost of these inputs goes beyond his capacity to pay. Indian corporate sector should take a lesson from such benevolent companies. After all we are all friends of the Americans and we can trust them to help us in times of need. The Green Revolution was ushered-in India to feed its starving millions. We had to beg before America and Australia for supplies of animal feed quality red wheat and Milo to feed our poor through our fair price shops. (Some fools however think that the famines of pre 1960 would have helped us reduce our population to levels whom our farmers could have fed adequately.) The high intensity agriculture that was taught to us helped India to establish its own chemical fertilizer industry and also its pesticide industry and now we do not depend on others for such inputs which are vital to our productivity. Unfortunately, it took us nearly 40 years to learn that such high chemical input agriculture could not be sustainable. Our farmers have polluted our air drinking water, food grains, fruits and vegetables. But this is a small price to pay for the self sufficiency we have gained and which has resulted in large stocks in our Food Corporation go-downs. High intensity agriculture means high input (i.e. reliant on agrochemicals fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides) and mechanization to maintain high yields. It also helped us to obtain multiple crops in each year of rice, the staple food of millions of Indians. However, it is now realised that this kind of agriculture requires new varieties to remain competitive and many crops are reaching their biological and physical limits of yield. By adopting the crossbreeding technique open can produce improved varieties but it is difficult to introduce new characteristics within limited gene pool hence the need for adopting GM Technology.

If India has to remain in the frontline of developed countries, it has to adopt the latest technology at least that is what our leaders would like us to believe. In a democratic society, the voters must get cheap food, even if it means that the farmers will remain perpetually poor. It is not too much to expect such sacrifice from them because we have always honored them by saying Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan Farmers are next only to our valiant solders. The Government of India appointed a committee called GEAC i.e. Genetic Engineering Approval Committee which is empowered to ensure that the adoption of GM seeds precedes trials at various Research Laboratories such as State Agriculture Universities as well as on farmers fields. It is only after sufficient trails are conducted that a company is allowed to market the GM seed for use by the general farmers. Green peace, a London based NGO, had requested the Secretary, Ministry of Forests and Environment, Government of India, to give them a hearing before the BT Cotton seed was allowed to be marketed. A meeting of intereste3d persons was conveyed at New Delhi to hear both the parties. The Secretary explained that BT Cotton will help reduce the use of pesticides on cotton which consumes almost 55 % of the total pesticid4es used in India. An organic farmer from an association of farmers from Vidarbha asked a pertinent question. He asked whether elimination of pesticides completely, as happens in organic cotton, is not better than reduction in its use? For reasons best known, none of the members present replied to this question. The members representing Shetakari Sanghatana asked for immediate introduction of BT cotton because according to them the Indian farmers cannot be deprived of the latest technology. They further said that let the farmer decide whether BT is good for him or not. A high-ranking scientist, who has written a book on organic farming and also conducted successful experiments on organic cotton for 7 years, said that his research institute is like a cafeteria. If the farmer wants organic cotton, he will advise him how to grow it but if he wants to know about BT cotton he will be advised for that also. If the farmer has to0 decide what is good for him, one wonders why? India needs large research establishments with scientists on fat salaries? The result of the meeting is now well known and? Indian farmers are now able to reduce the pesticide use by adopting BT cotton. This one incident shows how GM technology is relevant to Indian Agriculture. At this stage, one must review the benefits, real or probable, that will accrue to Indian agriculture by accepting GM technology. 1. GM could enhance agricultural productivity by introduction of genes from same or other species. 2. It will break the barriers to yields from existing varieties 3. It will reduce reliance on agro chemicals by producing disease, pest-resistant varieties. 4. It will create optimally adapted varieties that do not exhaust soil fertility. 5. Decrease water requirement by adoption to drought. 6. Reduce post harvest losses to pests 7. Improve nutritional value of foods 8. Make use of marginal environments through adaptation to salt, cold or heat, and

9. Develop alternative resources for industry such as fuels, starches and petrochemicals All in all, the benefits of GM technology are so attractive that the Indian farmers must start an all-compassing agitation forthwith so that no power can keep them away from such latest technology. As is true for any man made techno0logy, there are some drawbacks to this new technology also. It is fairly admitted by the proponents of GM technology that pest resistance to GM crops is ultimately likely. They further clarify that indiscriminate use of pest-resistant plants can hasten appearance of resistance. But, after all, we can get some respite during these few years by enjoying the benefits. In any case why need we plan for the next century because science is progressing by leaps and bounds and the day is not very far when human being can do without staple food. They would live on pills. The relevance of GM technology to Indian agriculture should be evident to the reader by now. Let us take up the question for Food Security. India was known to be an agricultural country. A the time of independence almost 80 % of Indians lived in villages,. Today the percentage is much reduced and with the advancement of industry, the population in villages depending directly on agriculture will be reduced to less than 10 percent. If our agricultural scientists could improve the yield from about 50 million metric tons to 200 million metric tons in just 30 years, we can trust them to improve it to 300 million metric tons in the next 20 years. In any case Indian farmers are using very low quantities of chemical fertilizers and pesticides as compared to their counter parts in developed countries. Our tenth plan provides for increasing the production of chemical fertilizers adequate to meet the future needs. It is a different matter that our soils are getting degraded and their productivity is going down in spite of high doses of chemical fertilizers. Do we have any responsibility towards the future generation of Indians? The mechanical farmers in industrialized countries have obtained high yields by adopting GM technology so much so that then are finding difficulty in selling this large produce at a profit. Needless to add, their governments will subsidize them appropriately. That eventuality need not be feared in Indian where the farmers are used to live in dire poverty and are so docile that none need fear any violent expression of their hunger. Even today, with our go-downs full of grains, at least 20 % of Indians cannot afford tow square meals a day because even though the grains are available at fair price shops, theses poor have no purchasing power to buy them. The rural employment scenario is pathetic because these people are uneducated and have no skills. Only the fittest will survive, no, only the fittest have the right to survive. Others must be doomed. In any case the powers that be, cannot be blamed. See what wonders they have done for urban India, which has good roads, uninterrupted electric supply, international grade airports and what not. The

villagers are second-class citizens and politicians need to go to them only once in five years, so why worry about their living conditions? The sceptics are busy finding fault with GM Technology. They say that the experience on only 5 years is not enough to accept this techno logy. Moreover the people who have accepted GM seeds have not made the world a much better place. The said technology is used mainly in USA, Argentina, Canada and China and that too for 4 crops, such as soybean, maize, cotton and canola. Only in cotton GM is for developing pest control while for other crops it is mainly to make to crop herbicide tolerant. In developed countries, the number of people attending the farms is so low that they have no manpower to control weeds. They have to depend on herbicides. In India a large number of rural women are gainfully employed for the job of controlling weeds. To that extent, if our farmers use roundup ready soybean they will be able to control weeds by spraying Roundup, a special herbicide for soybean and will not need the services of the women for this work. Our agricultural scientists who always look to America for solutions to the problems of farmers are advocating corporate farming and contract farming where they aspect monocropping on large are where machines will be used from sowing to harvesting. That is modern scientific agriculture. It matters little if rural unemployment is the result. The strength of India is not in its billions of hands but in modern technology. Once we accept that it is not our duty to look after the village people, the question of food security is to be viewed on the basis of availability of food. If the poor are unable to buy it, it is their fault. The GM technology is very much relevant to Indian Agriculture, as we must remain dependant for seed loose our biodiversity as early as possible, neglect our soil, neglect our future generations and help the large multinationals TO CONTROL OUR AGRICUTLURE. The advantage is we need not strain our brains accept the research findings of America, trust their wisdom and once again become slaves not through the use of gums but through the GM seeds. India deserves to be a slave nation.