India Paying High Cost by Not Adopting GM Crops

"India, a pioneer among developing countries in agricultural practices, is paying a high cost by not going in for bioengineering crops in a big way," said Dr. Clive James, founder and chair of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) at a plenary session on "Demystifying crop biotechnology: Issues and concepts for the mass media" held in Hyderabad, India on June 27, 2011. The session was part of the 20^th Asian Media Information and Communication Center (AMIC) 20^th Annual Conference which was attended by participants from Asia, U.S., and Europe.

In the same session, Dr. William Dar, director general of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), added that "It is time to apply new products being developed and this is possible only with political will." Both experts believe that crop biotechnology is a powerful tool to address the food demand of a rising global population. In just 15 years, after commercialization, accumulated biotech crops exceed 1 billion hectares in 2010 benefiting over 15 million farmers worldwide of  whom 90 percent are small and resource poor farmers. "Two principal requirements for continued success are needed: political will, and access to new and improved biotech crops," James added.

The book "Communication Challenges and Convergence in Crop Biotechnology" published by ISAAA and SEARCA, was launched during the session. It highlights the experiences of many countries in their knowledge sharing initiatives to facilitate a favorable environment for the growth of crop biotechnology. To get a copy of the book, visit http://www.isaaa.org.