We have a gene that helps plants grow better even with less rain
May 25, 2007
Indian Express
Vikas Dhoot
May 25, 2007
Excerpt…
The new drought-resistant gene could hit the US as early as 2011 and help resolve a part of the world’s water problems, says Dr Harvey L. Glick, director for scientific affairs in Asia-Pacific, Monsanto. In the farm business for over 30 years, Glick joined the agriculture biotech MNC at a time when it was beginning to develop crop biotechnology programmes. He helped introduce the first biotech crop in Canada in 1995 and has been actively involved in the development of biotech crops for Europe, Asia and the Americas. Glick talks to Vikas Dhoot about key issues in Indian and global agriculture, stressing on the need to revive extension counters in India.
You have made breakthroughs in the next generation of BT seeds which are drought-resistant. Can these help ease water disputes around the world?
Today, agriculture consumes 70 per cent of the world’s fresh water. Every country is facing challenges in managing water. We have developed a gene that helps plants to grow better even when rain is not good. We have been testing it in South America and the US for some years now. The first such seed, corn, should be available in the US by 2011-12 while cotton may come soon after. The studies on the new corn seeds have shown an 8-10 per cent higher yield even when rains are not good. I would be the first to admit that the challenges of water distribution are too complex to be solved by this alone, but it can be part of the solution.
India wants a second green revolution to reverse the worsening plight of its farm sector. Any suggestions?
The first green revolution in India was hugely successful. The key reason was the creation of a formidable network of agricultural extension counters—the best in the world—that worked closely with farmers. The farmers had to change the way they did everything. The good thing about biotech crops is that the technology is inside the seed, unlike in the first green revolution.
But since the Eighties, around the world, there has been a problem—public-sector investment in agriculture has shrunk sharply. It’s the same in India, whose agricultural extension network and universities are in a disarray. There is an urgent need to revive them. Despite that, I think Indian farmers have become very progressive—they are already advanced in the use of new biotech crops. Two million Indian farmers now use BT seeds while BT cotton is already planted in more than 8 million acres. In fact, in 2006, the rate of increase in BT cotton in India was higher than in China….
Full article at Indian Express.
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