Editor's Pick

Not reason Mr. Bidwai, anything but!

28 February 2010, 18:00 PM
EDITORIAL
K. Vijayaraghavan
IT was with immense interest that we read the article by Mr. Bidwai, titled "Reason Triumphs over Bt. Brinjal," in the February 23 issue of your esteemed publication. While we have great respect for Mr. Bidwai and his stand on various issues, especially concerning the rights of the poor and the downtrodden, it is unfortunate that he has depended on hearsay misrepresentations in this article. Mr. Bidwai keeps referring to Monsanto in his article when he refers to the Bt. brinjal project. The consortium partners involved in the Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project II that has coordinated the Bt. brinjal project in India, Bangladesh and the Philippines are the University of Agricultural Sciences -- Dharwad (UAS-D); Tamil Nadu Agrcultural University (TNAU); Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi (IIVR); the Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco); Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (Bari); and University of the Philippines, Los Baños. Monsanto is nowhere involved in the project. The argument that Mahyco is co-owned by Monsanto is also wrong. Monsanto holds a minority stake in Mahyco and in the age of globalisation this is common. Many Indian companies also hold minority holdings in multi-national firms. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. The chimera of corporate control of seeds and the ultimate private ownership of what is primarily common wealth is another issue that he raises. This is not a cause for concern in the case of Bt. brinjal. Food crops are usually grown as two primary variants -- open pollinated varieties (OPVs) and hybrids. OPVs are cultivated by small and medium farmers because it allows them to use seeds culled from subsequent harvests and avoid going back to the seed seller. Hybrids, developed by manually cross-pollinating different varieties because of their very nature produce less vigorous seeds. This is true of any hybrid, and they are grown by large commercial farmers with large acreages under cultivation. ABSPII's Bt. brinjal project is a remarkable example of a global effort with predominant engagement by southern countries under Public Private Partnership that has involved public bodies such as state and central agricultural institutions in India, Bangladesh and the Philippines, that have got together to develop 16 OPVs of brinjal for India and 9 varieties for Bangladesh and several varieties and hybrids for Philippines. The seeds for these will be distributed by the universities at low cost and, contrary to perceptions, farmers can use seeds from subsequent harvests. The private entities will focus on developing and marketing hybrid seeds. The public bodies will thus cater to the small and medium farmers who harvest and sell their crops in the open market. The article raises the issue of 2,200 varieties of brinjal in India. The 16 Indian Bt. versions can be seen as a gateway to further effective and useful biotechnology interventions for not merely other varieties of brinjal but other food crops too. Bt. technology has a proven track record as an effective pest management system, as has been successfully demonstrated in the case of Bt. cotton. The argument that cotton is not a food crop is valid, which brings us to Bt. corn and Bt. soya grown in the US and countries in South America. It is true that China has recently approved Bt. rice as a safe product for environmental release. This apart, India has some of the most stringent regulations in the world when it comes to bio-safety issues in transgenic crops. The bio-safety studies dossier available for free download at the GEAC website gives detailed reports on these tests. It is a comprehensive description of all the bio-safety tests that the product has undergone. It is obvious that these tests and the fact that Bt. technology has been in use for so many years with no evidence of adverse effects on human or animal health proves that the technology is safe. Bt. technology is a pest management strategy that ensures close to hundred percent effectiveness against the brinjal fruit and shoot borer worms. At present, the farmer uses around 30 and as much as 70 expensive pesticide sprays to confront these pests. Despite these sprays farmers face a loss of as much 60 percent of their marketable yield. The cumulative loss to the country because of these losses is close to Rs.2,500 crores for India and about Tk.750 crores for Bangladesh. It is true that Bt. technology is not a magic bullet that will bring about food security overnight, but it is a fact that significant reductions in the above figures is a definite move in the right direction. This will go to augment investment in other crop improvement with the huge saving achieved on brinjal. Beyond the economy, Bt. brinjal is a cost effective and sustainable solution for farmers that will enable him or her to save on pesticide use by at least 70 percent. This also translates to better health for the farmer, less contamination of ground water sources through seepage, and brinjals with low contaminants reaching the market and ultimately our dinner table. The Bt. brinjal project is largely an example of how biotechnology, when shared equitably and respectably, can be used to reduce poverty and hunger. The very recent intervention by the highest levels of government in India with regard to the decision by the minister of environment and forests, suggests that reason will ultimately prevail.
K. Vijayaraghavan is a Regional Coordinator -- South Asia Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project II. Email: vijay@sathguru.com.

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