India should look beyond Bt cotton; revisit Bt brinjal: ISAAA

NEW DELHI: India, which has the world's fourth largest area under biotech crop, should look beyond Bt cotton and revisit moratorium on commercial cultivation of Bt brinjal, said a latest report released by global body ISAAA.

In February 2010, the government had imposed moratorium on commercial cultivation of Bt brinjal EE-I, the first biotech food crop, due to concerns aired by green activists. But Bangladesh allowed its commercial cultivation in 2014.

India has so far permitted commercial cultivation of BT cotton and it was grown in 95 per cent of the total cotton area of 12.25 million hectare in 2014, the report said.

"GEAC's approval of field trials of another Bt brinjal event developed by National Research Centre on Plant Biotechnology (NRCPB) opens up an opportunity for government to revisit the moratorium on Bt brinjal event EE-I," said the global report released by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA).

Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) is a biotech regulatory body to decide on approval of GM crops.

India should "prioritise commercial approval of 16 varieties of Bt brinjal" with 'event EE-I' developed by three public sector institutes awaiting approval for commercialisation for the last 5 years now, the report said.

"Else the public sector investment in developing these varieties is set to go to waste because seeds tend to lose their vitality with time," it said.

Out of 16 Bt brinjal varieties, Dharwad-based University of Agricultural Sciences and Varanasi-based Indian Institute of Vegetable Research (IIVR) have developed six Bt brinjal varieties each, while Tamil Nadu Agriculture University (TNAU) has developed four varieties.

Citing Bangladesh's success story in Bt brinjal, ISAAA founder and report author Clive James said: "Timely approval and commercialisation of Bt brinjal in Bangladesh speaks of the power of political will and support from the government."

Last year, Bangladesh planted Bt brinjal in 12 hectares. Asserting that India should look beyond Bt cotton, Indian Society for Cotton Improvement President C D Mayee said, "It is high time we catch up with others in extending the technology beyond Bt cotton."

"The world is moving forward in adopting genetically modified (GM) crops. There is a new momentum, new hope that India must realise to harness the benefits of this useful technology," he added.

Globally, biotech crops were grown in a record 181.5 million hectares in 28 countries in 2014, an increase of more than 6 million hectares from 2013, the report said.

The US has the world's largest area under biotech crops at 73.1 million hectares, followed by Brazil at 42.2 million hectare, Argentina at 24.3 million hectares and India at 11.6 million hectares, the report added.