Maharashtra Times
July 6, 1999
Mumbai, Monday ( July 5): By the year 2020, India is expected to emerge
as one of the four major powers in the world, according to a study prepared
by the World Bank. Even then, India will not be able to make much headway
and progress without ushering in fundamental changes in its agriculture,
according to senior biotechnologist, Dr C S Prakash.
Dr Prakash is the director of the 'Center for Plant Biotechnology Research'
at Alabama in the US. He is credited with improving the qualities of food
products like sweetpotato and peanuts. Dr Prakash is also active in bringing
together biotechnologists of Indian origin under an organisation through
the Internet.
In the next ten years, along with the US, Japan and China, India will
be among the super powers. However, in order to achieve that kind of growth,
it is imperative that the existing practices in agriculture undergo fundamental
changes. This is important as more than two-thirds of the population still
depend on agriculture, according to Dr Prakash. The "green revolution"
is slowly petering out and even if our food production witnesses a four-fold
rise, there will be many children who will still suffer nutrition deficiency
and lack of adequate food, Dr Prakash said.
Dr Prakash said that according to a study by Prof. Anatoly Kratiger
of Cornell University, India's foodgrains output will have to more than
double from the present levels in order to feed the next two generations.
In this context, it is essential that our farmers are ready to meet the
challenge, Dr Prakash said.
In India, a majority of farmers have small holdings and are vulnerable
to the vagaries of nature like drought and floods. According to Dr Prakash,
against such a background, there is a need to make special effort to increase
productivity. Biotechnology and the innovations it is creating should
therefore be made available to Indian farmers so that they can benefit
from the latest knowledge, he added. Dr Prakash also expressed his concern
about the general lack of understanding about the harm caused by the use
of excessive pesticides. "In our country, nearly 50 per cent of the pesticides
used is accounted for by cotton alone, which is really alarming", Dr Prakash
said.
Dr Prakash expressed regret over the kind of concern expressed about
multinationals in the country. Referring to the 'Terminator' technology
and Monsanto, Dr Prakash said that in India no new technology can be brought
in in a haphazard manner as rules and regulations were very strict. However,
he expressed his unhappiness with the delay and the attitude of officials
which often results in delays and loss to the Indian farmer. "The fears
expressed about the new foods (GMO) in India are unwarranted as more than
60 per cent of the food used in the US comes from genetically developed
methods and not a single person till today has complained about even a
headache", Dr Prakash said.
|
