Need to regulate GM crops: Sen

India needs to have a proper set of protocols and a credible regulatory mechanism to address issues related to genetically modified crops, according to Abhijit Sen, member of the Planning Commission. Mr Sen was addressing a gathering at the inaugural day of the two-day international seminar on ‘Biotechnology in Indian agriculture: performance, potential and concerns’ here on Wednesday.

He said that the attempt to introduce Bt brinjal failed because of the lack of a proper regulatory mechanism in India. “We need to consider the protocol if biotechnology is at all good for consumers. The protocol regulatory authority can lead simply, without the intervention of the political system,” he said.

According to agricultural scientists, Indian agriculture needs a fresh round of technology infusion because since the mid-1990s, there has been a decline in the productivity of many crops; production has either stagnated or declined. This creates problems when it comes to feeding the world population, said Prof Ramesh Chand of the National Care Centre for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research.

“The world population will increase 30 per cent to reach 9.1 billion by 2050, whereas it is estimated that the requirement of food will increase 70 per cent from the current food requirement. The acute demand for food products may grow to 90 per cent due to food products being put to other uses,” he said. To meet the projected demand, agricultural scientists believe that technological infusion in agriculture is the need of the hour, given the fact that natural resources — land, water and bio-diversity —are three are scarce, shrinking and degrading, Prof Chand said.