The Hindu Business Line : Scientists try to demystify biotechnology for the media

IS agri-biotechnology getting a raw deal because of controversy dogging the use of genetically engineered crops? Yes, said scientists at a workshop organised last week for journalists at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Patancheru, near Hyderabad.

There is more to biotechnology than just genetic engineering or transgenic crops, which involves transferring a gene from a related or unrelated organism and putting it into a crop plant to give it the beneficial trait that the gene carries, they said.

The three-day workshop held last week sought to demystify a topic that has evoked strong emotions in developed and developing countries. The workshop sought to increase the awareness of journalists and to enable them to better address the issues and thereby, help the public come to an informed decision.

As the Head of Communications at Icrisat, Mr Rex Navarro, put it, the gene revolution has a global impact in improving agriculture production and rural economy, as much as the green revolution a few decades back. But the gene revolution, a tool in biotechnology, has not been well understood by the public. There is a need to inform and educate.

Important components of public acceptance of biotechnology are trust and awareness — trust that the public holds in the regulatory agencies and the system. According to Mr Jim Shannahan of the US-based Cornell University, trust in the regulatory agencies had helped the public accept genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Factors that build trust are open communication, a clear agenda, public-private collaboration and a clear awareness of the benefits.

According to Dr K. K. Sharma of Icrisat's Genetic Transformation Laboratory, the common perception that the increased commercialisation of biotechnology may exclude poor farmers from benefiting from the process need not hold true. Increased research in public sector institutions meet their needs.

Scientists, officials from the Department of Biotechnology, representatives from the private sector and biotechnology associations made a presentation. But participants could not help notice the absence of those who had less faith in the potential that biotechnology or genetic engineering had to offer.

Apart from Icrisat, the other organisers were the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre of India, International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

However, those making a presentation on the topic recognised the need for stringent regulations needed to address the bio-safety issues — the possible adverse impact that genetic engineering could have on human and environmental health. The experiences of handling a range of genetically engineered crops over the last decade shows no reason for fear of such an impact.

Mr Paresh Verma, Director-Research, Bioseed Research India Pvt Ltd, stressed that "hardcore breeding" is needed as a background material for biotechnology, which has to be a component of traditional breeding systems. A gene with a specific trait has to be transferred into an existing crop variety that has other beneficial traits.

It would help if the Government has a clear roadmap for exploiting biotechnology and puts in place a strong deterrence against the violation of bio-safety norms.

Scientists said that the concentration of beneficial traits such as better productivity, resistance to pests and diseases — what scientists call biotic stresses, or resistance to droughts — abiotic stress — is something that traditional breeders have been trying.

But what took them years to achieve through systematic breeding of crops in the field, geneticists are doing in the lab by precisely identifying the genes and transferring them into crops. Biotechnology has only made it possible for scientists to break the barriers between living organisms and exploit the genetic traits in any of them for the benefit of farmers and consumers.

According to Professor Farid Wahliyar, Global Team Leader for Biotechnology, Icrisat, research isaimed at "harnessing biotechnology for the poor."

Chickpea and groundnut yields could increase by 30-50 per cent, if water is not a constraint. Biotechnology can help create drought-resistant crops.

Farmers arespending more than a billion dollars on insecticide sprays, which could be avoided if crops are insecticide-resistant. Reducing insecticide sprays holds significant benefits for the environment.

According to Mr R.V. Ramaniah, a scientist in the Department of Biotechnology, there are stringent guidelines to ensure bio-safety. The Environmental Protection Act, 1986, rules on GMOs, and a host of other legislation including the Seed Act, Plant Variety Protection and Farmers Rights Act ensure the safe use of such technology.

here is a multi-level monitoring system that keeps a close watch on genetic research and the process of transferring the crops to the farmers' field. Over 60 research institutions in the public sector and 35 in the private sector are involved in transgenic research.

Biotechnology is here to stay. Dr Margarita Escaler, Manager, Global Knowledge Centre on Crop Biotechnology, International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA), said there is a continuous increase in the number of countries using biotechnology for crop improvement.

Despite a strong emotional resistance to genetically modified crops, the area under such crops had increased from 1.8 million hectares in 1996 to about 68 million hectares in 2003, she said.