NEWS: Agricultural Biotechnology: Adopt biotechnology in agriculture
Chennai Online News
April 16, 2007
Excerpt…
Coimbatore, April 16: With production of foodgrains and oilseeds remaining either stagnant or facing a shortfall, India, which stands at the crossroads, needed a breakthrough technology to increase productivity in the available land, a senior official in Agricultural Science Recruitment Board, Delhi, said today.
The yield of oilseeds was short by 24 million tonnes, pulses 15 million tonnes, wheat remaining at 70 million tonnes and rice at 85 to 90 million tonnes. Biotechnology could be an improved tool to introduce a second green revolution in India, Dr C D Mayee, Chairman of the Board, said.
Addressing a two-day media workshop on 'Agricultural Biotechnology' here, Mayee, however, said there were a lot of misconceptions and misunderstanding about the technology, which has created a fear among the farming community.
With basic need of food sufficiency in the long run, in the wake of foodgrains production remaining stagnant at 210 to 215 million tonnes in the last one decade, India has already started importing wheat now, he said.
Cotton production, after introduction of BT, a small fraction of the technology, in 2002 in India, has witnessed tremendous growth from 140 lakh bales to 270 lakh bales now. Media has a vital role to play to provide right kind of information on the advantages of BT to the maximum benefit of farmers, he said.
When biotechnology was adopted in human and veterinary care, why was it not adopted in agriculture, Mayee asked.
In his address, G Balachandran, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests, said, "More than 38 lakh hectares of cotton cultivation in the country are an indication that the farmers have accepted biotechnology…."
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