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Bio-agri industry in India confronted with hurdles to promote GM crops
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Thursday, 31 January, 2013, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Nandita Vijay, Bengaluru
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fiogf49gjkf0d Vision Group on Biotechnology views that the country’s bio-agri sector is confronted with hurdles to promote genetically modified crops.
“Serious regulatory hitches and lack of clarity of what the industry should do is hampering the progress of genetically modified crops,” said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, member, executive committee, Association of Biotechnology Led Entrepreneurs (ABLE), chairperson, Vision Group on Biotechnology, Government of Karnataka and chairman and managing director, Biocon Limited.
The only way to develop a bio-economy would be to encourage GM crops which is still grappling for support. There is a serious false propaganda on to highlight the negative aspects of GM crops.
Mazumdar-Shaw said, “We need to have a consensus among farmers, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), consumers and scientists ascertain their opinion on this subject which is going out of proportion largely out of poor understanding on the benefits of GM crops for a country like India.”
“In fact, the revenues from the biotechnology sector for 2012-13, which is estimated at Rs 28,500 crore or $7.5 billion has seen bio-agri and driven by Bt cotton generate more than half the revenues for this sector,” she said at the curtain-raiser of the 13th edition of the Bangalore India Bio, which is slated to take place between February 4 and 6, 2013 at Hotel Lalith Ashok.
The biotech event, which is of national and international significance annually, ensures that there is a dedicated session on bio-agri and this year too, there will be a plenary session titled ‘Heralding India’s Second Green Revolution'.
The discussion will be chaired by Kaushik Mukherjee, ACS and development commissioner, Government of Karnataka. K K Narayanan, managing director, Metahelix Life Sciences Limited (now a part of Rallis India) will co-chair the panel, which includes Shankarlinge Gowda, principal secretary, Department of Horticulture, Government of Karnataka; P Chengal Reddy, secretary general, Consortium of Indian Farmers Association, and M Mahadevappa, director, JSS Rural Development Foundation, ex-ASRB and former vice-chancellor, UAS Dharwad.
Mazumdar-Shaw stated, “Now in order to build a sustainable economy, we need to encourage bio agriculture and Bt crops cultivation.”
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