Date: 14/11/2022

Relevance: GS-3: Major crops-cropping patterns in various parts of the country, e-technology in the aid of farmers; Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.

Key Phrases: Genetically Modified (GM) food crop, gene revolution, policy paralysis on GM technologies, Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)

Context:

• Recently the Government took the decision to release India’s first Genetically Modified (GM) food crop - Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11 (DMH-11) — for “environment release”.
• Some activists approached the Supreme Court to ban it for various reasons.

Background: Global Acceptance of GM Crops

• The Supreme Court has ordered the status quo to be maintained till the next hearing on the matter.
• The opposition to GM food crops is not new. There has been a global campaign in this regard by many activists.
• GM crops have spread around the world since 1996. By 2019, roughly 190 million hectares were under GM crops, led by -
  • Corn and soybean in the US, Brazil, Argentina, and
  • Canola (rapeseed/mustard) in Canada.
• It has no harmful impact on human or animal health or the environment per se. There is ample evidence in support of that.
• Even Bangladesh has marched ahead with Bt brinjal. More than 70 countries have accepted the use of GM crops.

In case of India

• We had our first GM crop, Bt cotton, released in 2002. The then Prime Minister envisioned that science could transform agriculture.
• He extended the original slogan of “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan” (salutation to the soldier and the farmer), given by Lal Bahadur Shastri, to include “Jai Vigyan” (salutation to science).

Lessons from the Bt cotton decision for the case of mustard today

• Let’s look at the results of the historic decision taken in 2002 to introduce Bt cotton.
• Cotton production increased remarkably, registering an increase of 192 per cent in just 12 years, ushering the famous “gene revolution”.
• Cotton productivity increased from 302 kg per hectare in 2002-03 to 566 kg per hectare in 2013-14, an increase of 76 per cent.
• The area under cotton cultivation expanded by 56 per cent, of which about 95 per cent is under Bt cotton.
• More important are the gains to cotton farmers whose incomes increased significantly.
  • For instance, Bt cotton led Gujarat’s “agrarian miracle” of very high annual growth rate in agri-GDP during that period.
  • It made India the second-largest producer after China, and the second-largest exporter after the US, of cotton in the world today.

Concerns raised regarding Bt Cotton

• The success of Bt cotton holds many lessons for policymakers but it is not free from controversy and debate.
• Several concerns have been expressed by NGOs, civil society groups and farmers’ groups from time to time to emphasize the risks associated with GM crops.
• Some of these include —
  • Enhanced sucking pest damage in Bt cotton;
  • Increase in secondary pests such as mired bugs and Spodoptera;
  • Emergence of pest resistance;
  • Environmental and health implications in terms of toxicity and allergenicity that can cause hepatotoxic reactions in the human body and
  • Farmers’ exposure to a greater risk of monopoly in the seed business.

GM food is already in our food chain

• Based on largely unproven fears that unite the ideologues of the Left and the Right, commercial release of herbicide-tolerant (Ht Bt) cotton, Bt brinjal and now GM mustard have been held under moratorium.
• This is despite the official clearance from the country’s biotech regulator, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC).
• GMOs have been in our food systems for years. India heavily depends on imported edible oils (55-60 per cent of India’s domestic requirement is imported).
• A large portion of this comes from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, the US, etc, which is all from GM technology (in soybean and canola).
• We eat plenty of our own cotton seed (binola) oil, and about 95 per cent of our cotton is now GM.
• Cotton seed is also fed to cattle which gives the milk its fat content. Even poultry feed, such as soya and corn, is being imported.
• So, GM food is already in our food chain, and has been there for quite some time.

Issues with respect to farmers’ rights

• By not allowing GM mustard or for that matter even Bt brinjal for so long, one is denying the basic rights of farmers who want to increase their incomes.
• The best way to do so is by raising productivity in a sustainable manner with the use of science.
• The field trials of GM mustard at different locations showed 25-28 per cent higher yield and better disease resistance compared to indigenous varieties.
• This can go a long way in augmenting domestic mustard oil supplies and farmers’ incomes.

Opportunities ahead for India

• It was expected that India would be at the forefront of the gene revolution and emerge as a major export hub to other Asian and African countries.
• What the IT revolution has done in computer science, the Bt revolution could have done in agriculture.
• Unfortunately, our policy paralysis on GM technologies from 2003 to 2021, under pressure from activists and ideologues, has cost the farmers a lot.
• India is no longer at the forefront. But it is still better to be late than never to catch up vis-a-vis the gene revolution.

Way Forward

• Dissent is a good sign in any democratic society and forms an essential part of checks and balances.
• But once the safety tests are done and the scientific body (GEAC) has given the green signal, what is needed is political leadership to keep the decision-making science-based.
• The agriculture of tomorrow is going to be science-based, and the winners will be those who adopt it and develop it further today.
• Innovation is the name of the game, and “Jai Anusandhan” is a good slogan given by PM Modi.
• But it will have meaning only when the government goes ahead with not just GM mustard but also fast-tracks Ht Bt cotton, Bt brinjal, and even GM soya and corn.

Source: Indian Express

Mains Question:

Q. The agriculture of tomorrow is going to be science-based, and the winners will be those who adopt it and develop it further today. Discuss the statement in light of Genetically Modified (GM) technologies. [250 Words].