which is good . Although pulses were left out but I am glad now lot of emphasis is being laid on them . Getting vegetables from small holder farmers to market is missing , cold storages and transportation is not at par with their objectives . This is where private players can chip in . The more you get the private and public investments , more changes you get to see on ground .
Why did the benefits of first green revolution not reach to the vast areas in earlier BIMARU states such as Bihar , Madhya Pradesh , Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh ?
In my opinion what happened was that once the green revolution was achieved successfully , we had this feeling that the entire problem is solved . The follow up on the crop management was missing , investments were off leading to worst agricultural performance in few states .
The second problem was that the local issues were not adequately addressed in other states as much as in states like Punjab , Haryana and Tamil Nadu . One didn ’ t say that what are the best crops for these fragile states . Less investments and the lack of R & D led to it . But now in last 10 years , I have seen that there has been attention given to it . The cultivation of the hybrid maize in Bihar , pulses in coastal areas of Orissa are an example . Some changes have happened but we still have a long way to go . Extension system and farmer awareness levels needs to be strengthened .
What prevents the second green revolution ? Can ’ t we adopt new technologies like genetically modified crops ?
In India , there is only one approved GM crop which is Bt Cotton . It spread rapidly and now holds an estimated 11 million hectares of land in the country . The prospects of having the edible GM crops seems limited today . The only crop that was in pipeline was Bt Brinjal which too has not been given any green signal . Now perhaps we are waiting for the results in Bangladesh where it has been already released .
I think we are putting lot much emphasis on GM . But we are missing the point that the real understanding of genomics and specific genes in a particular trait will help us more than anything . For example , if we identify a gene which we are able to say is salt tolerant , we can put it to use through various techniques . To use new kind of genomic knowledge and bring that into breeding programmes
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We have to think future is positive but need to keep in mind that majority of our population in future would be urbanized . The demand for safer and quality food would only increase . To provide that attention and investments would be the key to agriculture progress .
is far more important .
Even many experts say that students are shying away from transgenic research due to controversies ?
Well don ’ t think it is really entirely true in case of India . Yet internationally , it surely is a case . It is unfortunate .
As long as we only harp on GM , we lose the bigger picture . We not only get this tag and lose investments due to controversies but it also restricts the entire biotech sector . I believe there is a huge scope for agriculture biotechnology beyond GM also .
How do you look at the future of agriculture in India ? What is your advice to the policymakers when they plan schemes for next decade ?
We have to think future is positive but need to keep in mind that majority of our population in future would be urbanized . The demand for safer and quality food would only increase . To provide that attention and investments would be the key to agriculture progress .
As far as planning for future is concerned , I suggest that we have to increase investments into infrastructure for agriculture including better transportations and roads , cold storages , market chains , growing variety of crops . There is also a need to look at research systems and extension systems . Much more resources , better investments , technical skills are required . I personally believe that we are on a better path than earlier . Sustained efforts would help .
BIOVOICENEWS . COM 13