Transgenic crops should be adopted "carefully":Bioversity Intl

NEW DELHI: Amid concerns about ecological impact of genetically modified crops like cotton and corn in some countries, Rome-based agri-research body Bioversity International today said such transgenic crops should be adopted on a 'case to case basis' to achieve food security.

A transgenic crop plant contains a gene or genes which have been artificially inserted instead of the plant acquiring them through pollination. The inserted gene may come from another unrelated plant, or from a different species.

"Today, we have options to cultivate traditional and transgenic crops. However for food security purpose, I believe, we should adopt transgenic crops carefully and on a case to case basis," Bioversity International Director General Emile Frison told reporters ahead of tomorrow's two-day conference on use and management of agrobiodiversity.

He said that it would be difficult to say whether introduction of trangenic crops has affected biodiversity because there is no established research study to prove this.

Bioversity International is one of 15 agri-research centres supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). It is dedicated to the conservation and use of agri-biodiversity.

At the same time, an official at the Indian government institute NBPGR that conserves plant genetic resources said, that there was no impact of transgenic crops on agriculture.

National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources NBPGR Director K C Bansal said, "No loss on agriculture biodiversity has been reported as a result of transgenic crops. Rather, there have been advantages. There are research studies to show this."

India has adopted Bt cotton crop in more than 90 per cent of the total area. Field trials in cotton and maize are still continuing in some states. But on Bt brinjal, the government has imposed a moratorium on its commercial release since 2010 due to concerns expressed by green activists.

That apart, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture, headed by Basudeb Acharia, had in last year recommended to the Government to stop all open-field trials of transgenic crops until it develops a better monitoring system.

Highlighting poor state of genebanks across the world, Rome-based institute said there are 7.4 million accession globally and India has third largest gene collection.

"However, the use of germplasm accession, being maintained in CGIAR or in national genebanks, is still limited."

Many of gene banks are in precarious state. They lack resources to sustain even as genebank collections are growing in size in the majority of the countries, it said.

The two-day conference, organised along with government research body ICAR, to be attended by 32 countries will deliberate on how to use and maintain genebanks for sustainable food security.