The advancement of GM crops globally has many lessons for agriculturists , plant biotechnologists , economists and policy makers . Whether it is Latin America , Asia or Africa , farmers planting GM crops have reduced pesticide use , not just by reducing their production costs but ensuring environmental gains . GM crops that are tolerant to herbicides have been helping farmers control weeds without damaging the crops .
Again , there are GM crops which are resistant to specific viruses . One of the very first GM crops introduced in Asia was Bt corn . The Philippine government ’ s approval of the commercial release of Bt corn in 2002 marked the dawn of GM food / feed crop ’ s planting in Asia . Initial planting of Bt corn for the first year ( 2003 ) covered more than 10,000 hectares . Corn harvests in the Philippines would typically be destroyed by the Asiatic corn borer , a common corn pest in the Philippines . Corn yield levels in the island nation averaged only 2.8 tons per hectare . However , that has now changed . Together with other biotech corn varieties ( herbicide tolerant and Bt / HT ), the total hectarage in the wet and dry seasons in 2018 in the country was estimated to be 630,000 hectares . The yield advantage of Bt corn was 14-34 % more than the conventional corn hybrids .
Closer home , brinjal farmers of Bangladesh have experienced a revival of fortunes with the cultivation of GM crops . In January 2014 Bangladesh was the first country in South Asia to introduce any GM food crop in the region . The genetically modified Bt brinjal was developed by inserting a crystal protein gene ( Cry1Ac ) from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis into the genome of various brinjal cultivars thereby protecting the crop from infestation of Fruit and Shoot Borer ( FSB ), the deadliest pest for brinjal . Starting with 20 farmers , the Bt brinjal varieties reached 27,012 farmers across the country in 2018 , which constituted about 18 % of
Several international organizations such as the FAO , WHO and OECD have repeatedly confirmed the safety of the biotech crops . People around the world have been consuming products of biotech crops for more than 20 years and there is not even a single verified case of any concern on human health .
Bangladesh ’ s estimated 150,000 brinjal growers . At least three more GM crops – late blight resistant potato , Bt cotton and vitamin-A enriched Golden Rice – are in the pipeline for their commercial releases in Bangladesh .
India , itself , has experienced the benefits of GM crops . Since the introduction of Bollgard-I in 2002 in six states -- Andhra Pradesh , Gujarat , Madhya Pradesh , Karnataka , Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu-- which was the country ’ s first GM crop approved for commercialization , followed by Bollgard II , a pestresistant variety which protects the cotton crop from bollworm , in 2006 , there has been a dramatic rise in India ’ s cotton yield . Cotton production rose from 8.62 million bales ( of 170 kg each ) in 2002-03 to 34.04 million bales in 2021-22 . Between 2002-03 and 2013-14 , which was the ‘ golden period ’ of Bt cotton , yield rose by 167 % and production by 316 % while area under cotton cultivation expanded by around 39 %. In 2013-14 , area under Bt cotton cultivation touched 11.03 million hectares , with productivity at 510 kg per hectare as total cotton cultivation peaked to 35.9 million bales .
However , every technology needs upgrading . The fallout can be seen in declining farm yields as newer pests like pink bollworm and parasitic weeds emerge across the cotton growing regions . The solution lies in introducing the new herbicide-tolerant Bt ( HtBt ) cotton , as it allows farmers to spray herbicides to get rid of parasitic weeds in the farm without harming the main crop .
Meanwhile , commercial cultivation of two GM food crops – brinjal and mustard – approved by GEAC are yet to see the light of the day in India even a decade after the approvals .
After over 25 years of GM crop adoption globally , an accumulated acreage of more than 2.5 billion hectares worldwide have been planted with GM crops . From soybean , corn , tomato and cotton , today there are GM variants of canola , sugarbeet , sugarcane , brinjal , alfalfa , potato , papaya and many more , helping raise income for farmers , farm yield and countrywide production levels and ensuring food security for the respective nations .
DR SHIVENDRA BAJAJ , EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR , FEDERATION OF SEED INDUSTRY OF INDIA AND ALLIANCE FOR AGRI INNOVATION
Dr Bajaj works with stakeholders such as central and state governments , regulators , media to inform and educate them about the role and benefits of biotechnology for farmers and agriculture . Previously , as the Executive Director of Association of Biotech Led Enterprises- Agriculture Focus Group ( ABLE AG ), he represented the industry on agricultural biotechnology across national and International platforms .
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