Experts deliberate on genetically modified crops

Tibune News Service

Ludhiana, May 28

Extension specialists, NGOs, agriculture companies, and farmers from different parts of Punjab deliberated on diverse aspects of genetically modified (GM) crops during the stakeholder’s workshop on “Socio-Economic Considerations for GM Crops” held at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU).

The workshop was organised under the project “Developing Guidelines and Methodologies for Socio-Economic Assessment for Living Modified Organisms,” sponsored by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.

Chairing the inaugural session, Dr SS Banga, National Professor, Plant Breeding and Genetics, PAU, said with the increasing population, shrinking land holdings, declining natural resources, and rising unemployment, emphasis should be on minimising the use of farm inputs, enhancing nutritional value of crops and augmenting farmers’ profit.

He said: “GM technology is good, but issues concerning it must be addressed through research. Scientists should come up with good quality in GM technology, do away with bad ones, and remove doubts in the minds of public.”

Dr Kuldeep Singh, Senior Molecular Geneticist, School of Agricultural Biotechnology, while co-chairing the session, said global area cultivated with GM crops had touched 170 million hectares. It was being cultivated in the US, China, India and Europe, he said. “It is a successful example and has not harmed Punjab farmers, but there is a global concern regarding market rates and allergies that GM foods cause,” he pointed out, while adding that whichever new technology came up, it had its own merits and demerits. But at the same time, improvement in technology ought to be made.