Doubts over GM crops misplaced

HYDERABAD: Food security through technology was the message driven home at a panel discussion on ‘Technology as a driver of growth: ensuring farm prosperity’ organized by IndoAsiancommodities.com.here on Wednesday, the fourth in a series of workshops.“We now need new technology in agriculture that can address the problem of malnutrition,” said Dr B Sesikeran, director of the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) during the discussion.He added that doubts over the use of genetically modified (GM) technology were misplaced and were delaying the trial of GM crops due to protests.In a country which will need an additional 50 million tonnes of foodgrains over the next decade to meet the domestic demands, the panelists suggested the use of science and technology for value addition to crops and increasing their tolerance to adverse environmental factors such as droughts and temperature fluctuations.“Over the years, BT and biotechnology have merged in the minds of the people and there is a vast difference between the two,” pointed out Dr Dwarkesh Parihar, chief scientist at Shriram Bioseed Genetics.Panelist Raghava Rao, managing director of Kohinoor Hatcheries Ltd, also highlighted the policy irritants preventing the outreach of benefits of technology to the farmers, resulting in losses.The experts stressed the need to engage farmers with research institutes, agricultural departments at central and state levels as well as corporates for growth.