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Pawar wants nutrition and food security to go hand-in-hand; takes no stand on GM
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Saturday, 09 April, 2011, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Our Bureau, Mumbai
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India still has a long way to go in achieving food and nutritional security, albeit the country has achieved record production with 5.4% growth in agriculture and allied sector. This was corroborated by Sharad Pawar, minister of agriculture and food processing, while addressing the National Conference on Agriculture for Kharif Campaign-2011 in New Delhi recently.
"Record production with 235.88 Mt of foodgrains in 2010-2011 should not lead to complacency as we are far behind in achieving food and nutritional security for the growing population of the country," he said.
To ensure food and nutritional security for all, the minister stressed on the need to promote production of coarse cereals which had high nutritional value and health benefits.
In this context, the minister said that the need was to ensure credit flow at cheaper rate, higher incentives for timely repayment of loan, quality seeds and encouraging farmers to raise fodder production to achieve increase in milk production in the country.
"The government has taken a conscious decision to give significant increase in the MSP (Minimum Support Prices) of various agricultural crops to motivate farmers to enhance production and thus ensure availability of agricultural commodities in the country," he added.
Enhancement in agricultural production was vital in meeting the challenge of ensuring food and nutritional security of the country.
Though Pawar shared tips on increasing productivity of crops through seed treatment, reduction or post-harvest losses, adoption of multi-model enterprises and so on, he preferred to take a diplomatic stand on GM (genetically-modified) food. Genetic modification was one of the proposed techniques by a section of researchers to increase production manifold. However, it remained controversial as the long-term effects of such foods on health were yet to be ascertained and discussions regarding the same were in progress.
On the GM trials being conducted in the states, Pawar said that the Centre must consult states on genetically-modified (GM) food crops.
The chief minister should be taken into the loop while discussing major issues and the assent of a state government must be taken before trials of genetically-engineered crops were conducted in the state.
Here, Pawar was referring to Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar's ban last month on trials of GM maize in the state following approval by the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC).
Kumar had taken offence to multi-centric trials in Bihar permitted by the GEAC and had written to the union environment minister Jairam Ramesh.
In response, Ramesh had asked the GEAC to stay its permission, while Kumar immediately ordered a ban on trials of Bt maize in Bihar.
Kumar claimed that failure of a multi-national hybrid maize seed that failed last year had cost the state government Rs 61 crore as compensation paid to farmers.
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