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Resource centre on India's rural distress
 
 

This fear of GM-Ajay Vir Jakhar
-The Indian Express

Farmers welcome the stand of the government of India on the outright rejection of the recommendations of the technical expert committee to the Supreme Court, which suggested that a moratorium be imposed on field trials of GM crops. The SC shot down the proposal of an interim moratorium that would have strangled technology and innovation in the country. The moratorium would have also prevented Indian scientists and companies from focusing on emerging technologies, allowing other countries and companies that already have a head start on Indian research institutions to remain ahead of us. India would be forced to remain dependent on others for technology and food.

A crisis-ridden India was once saved by a frugal prime minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri, who helped the country become self-sufficient in food by importing and sowing the seeds of the green revolution. Four years later, our farmers increased production by a higher quantity than ever before.

Public opinion continues to be swayed by the fear of the unknown. When the Bhakra dam was completed, members of the opposition in erstwhile joint Punjab reportedly told the electorate that after the electricity is extracted from water, the water for irrigation wouldn’t be able to to grow crops and even won elections. The advent of computer technology had the then opposition forecasting that it would be the nemesis of the job-seeker. Fortunately, these progressive technologies were not leashed by the government and we galloped ahead to the green and IT revolutions.

The lingering challenge here is the question of how hunger and poverty can be ended. We easily perceive the mirage of plenty, for we constantly see images of rotting food grains. In fact, the problem of food security in India is far more critical than in the rest of the world. India has 4 per cent of the water, 2 per cent of the land and 16 per cent of the world’s population. The consequences of climate change will be devastating for tropical regions like India. Dependence on expensive imported oil, potash and phosphorus fertilisers will throttle growth prospects. An amalgamation of these impediments will lead to a decrease in current agriculture production, while we hope to double production to meet the needs of a growing population. As incomes increase, the demand for meat and dairy will lead to more wastage of plant calories allocated as animal feed. Food used as biofuel will further strain food supply. Imported food is not a solution we can afford.

I must clarify that I am an “interested party”, as one would claim in a court of law, because I am a farmer who, like over 70 lakh other farmers (over 90 per cent of all cotton farmers in the country), has benefited from growing Bt cotton, thus helping our country transform from being a net importer to the second-largest exporter of cotton in the world within 10 years.

Other “interested parties” had recommended to the SC a like-minded technical expert committee. The recommendations on scientific research restriction by the committee were generally a foregone conclusion. Now, the court has appointed R.S. Paroda, former secretary, Department of Agriculture Research and Education (DARE), and director general of the Indian Council of Agriculture Research as a member of the committee. We hope he accepts the appointment.

Of the total cropped area in the world, 75 per cent soybean, 82 per cent cotton, 26 per cent canola and 32 per cent maize is GM. More than half the world already consumes products of GM crops. More crops, like rice, will be grown with GM technology in the next few years. Every year, billions of dollars are being spent on biotech research, and India is yet to get off the starting block.

There is no panacea for all of agriculture’s issues. There is a new understanding and revival of organic practices. But such interventions alone will not suffice in increasing production and profitability on the farm. These practices will need to be integrated with new technologies to help us tide over our seemingly insurmountable problems. Our resource levels per citizen are low. As a temporary measure, we can try to secure the required stocks worldwide, but that is unlikely to happen. On the other side is computerised water management, fertigation, bio, nano and information technologies, vertical farms, hydroponics and aeroponics research. The possibilities are endless.

In the future, we face a scarcity not only due to the inaccessibility of resources, but also our unwillingness to tap the well of Indian ingenuity. We must formulate policies to incentivise research and incorporate technology as a resource-liberating tool.

The writer is chairman, Bharat Krishak Samaj