|
|
|
You can get e-magazine links on WhatsApp. Click here
|
|
|
|
|
|
India needs to look at rodent attacks, soil fertility and agri biowaste: Experts
|
|
Monday, 09 May, 2011, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
|
|
Our Bureau, Bangalore
|
Combating rodent attacks, increasing soil fertility and converting agricultural biowaste are some of the key issues that need to be addressed to promote growth in the agricultural field in the country, according to bio-agri experts.
The experts who were deliberating at the just-concluded Bangalore India Bio event pointed out that food productivity was impacted by a combination of factors. A major task on hand for the agricultural scientists was to look at controlling the attack of rodents in the food granaries in the country.
“India has a serious rodent problem. If we get rid of them, the productivity of foodgrains will increase by several folds. We have a tendency to focus on pesticides to control the rodents but other methods need to be devised,” pointed out Prof. Samir K Brahmachari, director-general, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), and secretary, Department of Scientific & Industrial Research.
The current use of pesticides is huge and this is the key cause of fall in the quality of the soil. If we are able to evaluate which soil supports what kind of crop in India, by mapping the entire soil metagenome to productivity, we will be the first country to do so, and will have tremendous results. We need to ascertain the type of soil most favourable for each kind of crop. This would be a better solution to increasing productivity when compared to pesticides, stated Prof. Brahmachari.
Further, he said that the key objective of the team of agri-biotechnologists was to highlight the point that “tomorrow’s drugs are not going to be chemicals, but functional foods.” He cited the example of the size of one inch peanuts in Israel, which were twice the size of those in India and the fact that their consumption would keep many diseases at bay. The size of peanuts was not the quality of the seed, but that of the soil, he added.
Pointing out that use of agricultural biowaste should be on the rise and this added value to the soil and agricultural practices, Prof. Brahmachari said it was time for the scientific leadership in India where its experts needed to lead and insist on good cultivation and storage practices which would control pests and improve quality of soil without indiscriminate use of pesticides.
According to Dr Satish Raina, director, Global Transgenes Ltd, Indian companies involved with the development of genetically-modified (GM) crops have become an endangered species and are on the brink of disappearing. But the multinational companies (MNCs) could stay on owing to their large size of operations.
“The government which was so long allocating substantial funds for GM crops, had suddenly put a control on funding. This could be because of the concern about long-term effects of GM foods. Therefore the need of the hour was to get the best toxicologists to address the issue of toxicity and allergenicity in GM crops. Even after 15 years of GM foods in the US, nothing alarming has been found. The same is the case in the EU. In the scenario, it was possible that MNCs could take over major areas of agri-biotechnology in India and its scientists and farmers would remain mere spectators in the field,” stated Dr Raina.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|