NEW DELHI, Oct 16: The country needs to adopt new
technologies in agriculture and the current mindset over the usage of
genetically modified products has to change to ensure that the farmer reaps the
benefits from it and productivity grows , experts said at an interactive
discussion here today.
They said in a rain-fed country like India, seed was
the best technology that could be offered to farmers who are often at the
receiving end due to vagaries of weather and climate change.
“Long-drawn regulatory processes are
an impediment to spread of technology,” said Vibha Ahuja, General Manger of
Biotech Consortium India Ltd.
“Our rules are really old. They were
set in 1989 for environmental protection after the Bhopal incident. These rules are for
industrial products and can't be applied to agriculture products,” she said at
a panel discussion on Agriculture and Technology organised by
IndoAsiancommodities.com, a website devoted to agriculture, technology and
metals.
Ahuja said there was no need to have safety concerns
over the usage of genetically modified products as there are strict processes
in place to test them and approved products like Bt Cotton and Bt Brinjal are
safe. “We do the same tests as are done in the United States.”
She said regulators need to communicate better and our scientists don’t
communicate enough.
“ The civil society may be against GM crops, but that is not the only stake
holder. Think of the farmers who are waiting for new technologies,” Ahuja said.
Making a strong pitch for getting into evaluating and testing GM crops as soon
as possible, she said it was a pity that some states were not allowing field
trials.
“Without field trials, the kind of
data to be generated cannot be done. How will I get the data I need to verify,”
she said adding that there was a communication gap down the line.
“By restricting ourselves, we are restricting the spread of technology.”
She said there were very well managed guidelines for
seed trials and there was also post harvest monitoring to study any impact on
the environment.
Dr K .C. Bansal, Director National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, said the
bureau was
working to identify genetic resources
for rainfed agriculture. That's where we get 40 percent of our crops and that's
where 50 percent of agriculture labour is committed.
Bansal said erratic monsoon due to global weather changes has made things
difficult for rainfed agriculture and in such a situation better and high
yielding seeds were necessary..
“The seed is the best technology we can give a farmer. We can keep on improving
it. It should grow despite lack of moisture,” Bansal said.
He said there was also lack of mechanization, mostly because of small and
fragmented land holdings. ICAR and other research institutions were now
developing specialized equipment for small farmers, he said.
Bansal said it needs to be explored
if we could also opt for some cooperative effort and put the farms to better
use through infusion of technology.
“We are now working on various
technologies, including nano technology and bio technology, ICAR is doing
research on several areas on technology,” he said.
Bansal said work was also on on
getting better seeds and hybrids through conventional methods in agriculture,
horticulture, livestocks and fisheries.
He said research was also continuing
to make grey areas green and increase production and productivity of oilseeds
and pulses, where we are in deficit.
“I do not think there is fear of any
new technologies,” he said.
The need for quick initiatives to
ensure trickle down of technology to the
level of farmers in regions dependent on rains
to achieve desired and sustained farm
growth were underlined by speakers at the meeting..
The panelists said it was paramount that bio
technology is harnessed to boost production and any misconceptions over use of
bio seeds and food safety issues have to be set at rest. Such technology has to be brought to the
doorstep of the farmer to usher in a second green revolution and lift the
living standards of farm workers. Adoption of modern technology has become all
the more important since several regions were often prone to drought and floods.
‘Technology
as a Driver of Growth: Ensuring Farm Prosperity’, is the eighth in the
series of media workshops and panel discussions on the importance of farm
technology organised by IndoAsiancommodites.com. The earlier events were held at Jaipur, Bhopal,
Ahmedabad, Hyderabad,
Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore.
Participating in the discussion the
panelists said with the change in times, challenges too were different and in
order to meet them science and technology needed to be tapped to ensure food
security and availability of quality food.
Technology could be used for value addition in
crops and for evolving techniques for plants to withstand environmental and
climate induced changes like droughts, floods and temperature fluctuations.
Issues related to limited resources like water and fertile land, impact of
climate change, bio safety and food safety aspects, use of fertilizers and pesticides needed to be addressed.
For effective and quick agricultural operations use of
machinery is crucial, it was pointed out.
Several technological innovations in farm machinery to cut labour costs
and for marketing were available but there was lack of knowledge about it.
The next round of technology requires
the spread of improved variety of seeds to release land for crops where demand
elasticity is greater – fruits, vegetables, and feed for animal husbandry
products. Agriculture sector reforms are necessary to improve soil fertility,
water management, new technologies, preservation of perishables and creation of
efficient value chains for supply and delivery.
Background
India has the world’s second largest area
under agriculture and also enjoys the second position in the world in terms of
overall agricultural production. With a billion plus growing population in the
country, it becomes imperative for India to increase agricultural
productivity, to not only be able to feed the growing population, but also
provide raw material for the development of various industries. Agriculture and associated industries also
account for about 50% of the country’s manpower.
It is estimated that the country would need an
additional 50 million tonnes of foodgrains in the next 10 years to meet the
domestic demand, as enunciated by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in his
address to the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) earlier this
year.
The government in a report on ‘State of Indian Agriculture’
presented to parliament in February emphasized the need to bridge the yield gap
in low productivity regions by technological inputs and other interventions. It
said raising productivity assumes significance with demand for land area
growing for industrialization, infrastructure and housing.
Agriculture research and technological infusion
are key to strengthen domestic agriculture and to ensure sustainable growth,
reduce farm losses and increase farmers’ incomes. Due to stagnating crop
yields, agriculture is on a decline and no longer considered lucrative, especially by the youth.
As such there is a
need for institutes to work more closely with farmers and for the government to
be more proactive on issues concerning agriculture technology to revamp the
farm sector and growth.
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