Safeguarding national food security is a major goal of agricultural scientists of the National Agricultural Research System comprising ICAR institutes and the Agricultural Universities. All possible science-based approaches are used to develop suitable technologies, farming practices and improved crop varieties to ensure enough food production so as to meet the demand of the ever-increasing population. Scientists engaged in developing new varieties in different crops for food and agriculture utilize various approaches including conventional breeding, molecular breeding and genetic engineering. The new crop varieties are developed with traits such as increased yield, resistance to diseases and insect pests, and tolerance to various environmental stresses like drought, high temperature, salinity, flooding, etc. As a result of the concerted efforts by scientists, we have been able to improve crop productivity from 0.7 tons/ha in 1970 to 2.4 tons/ha in 2022 resulting in an increased food production in the country, from merely 100 mt in 1970 to about 330 mt in 2022-23, without any increase in the net sown area. During this period, over 5000 varieties of cereals, pulses and oilseeds crops were developed with desired agronomic traits.
However, productivity of major crops like wheat, rice, maize, chickpea, groundnut and mustard in India is far below the world’s highest productivity levels. Further, agriculture today is facing several challenges, predominantly being the fast- changing climate, dwindling natural resources like arable land and water, soil degradation and emerging pests and pathogens.
While conventional crop breeding is pivotal for developing improved crop varieties for securing the food demands of an ever-increasing population, by combining it with advancements in biotechnology and genetic engineering tools, we can accelerate the pace of breeding and develop high yielding crop varieties adapted to the challenging climatic conditions. It is thus imperative that we supplement the conventional breeding methods with modern biotechnological tools like genetic engineering and genome editing to develop new varieties and hybrids for achieving incremental gains in food production despite the challenges posed by climate change.
With the advent of plant genetic engineering in the early 1990s, India embarked upon developing GM crops with a range of traits primarily focusing on resistance to insect pests and diseases, nutritional quality and tolerance to drought, salinity, etc. In 2002, GM cotton hybrids harboring Bt gene and imparting resistance against insect-pest American bollworm were approved by Genetic Engineering Approval Committee and released for commercial cultivation. These Bt cotton hybrids were rapidly adopted by farmers resulting in increased production from about 13 million bales in 2002-03 to a record production of 35 million bales in 2014-15. From an importer, India became a leading exporter of cotton globally.
More recently in October 2022, GM mustard hybrid DMH 11, developed by the Centre for Genetic Manipulation in Cop Plants of Delhi University, with about 25% higher productivity was given conditional approval by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee for environmental release and also the GM parental lines with a view to develop more high yielding hybrids for boosting the indigenous edible oil production and reducing our dependence on import over time (India imported Rs.1.17 lakh crore of edible oil during the year 2020-21, Rs. 1.57 lakh crore in 2021-22 and Rs.1.38 lakh crore in 2022-23).
However, a writ petition was filed in the court in November, 2022 and further experimentation as required by the GEAC could not be undertaken and the desired field testing of the GM mustard parental lines as well as the GM hybrid DMH 11 could not be completed.
In the meantime, on July 23, 2024, Hon’ble Supreme Court has given a split judgement in the matter, allowing on one hand the field testing of the GM mustard hybrid DMH11 to continue with sufficient safeguards and precautions, and on the other hand quashing the decision of the GEAC approving the environmental release of transgenic mustard hybrid DMH-11. And has directed the Union of India to formulate a National Policy on GM crops after conducting a national consultation with all stakeholders including State Governments within next four months.
However, it is in the national interest that we deploy all modern biotechnologies, of which GM crops form an essential and integral component, to produce food more efficiently to meet the growing demand, without expanding the cultivated land. Notably, harnessing the benefits of GM technology is crucial not only for increasing crop productivity, but also for ensuring climate resilience and environmental sustainability of Indian agriculture.
Globally, GM crops have the potential to deliver a range of benefits to farmers, which include improved protection from insects, diseases, weeds and extreme weather conditions like drought, salinity and high temperature, resulting in increased yields, reduced pesticide use and increased farmers’ profitability. Importantly, researchers have developed GM rice which has shown great promise in reducing greenhouse gas emission. Currently, more than 200 million hectares of area is under cultivation of GM crops in 29 countries, and additionally 43 countries have accepted to consume GM crops.
With regard to safety of GM crops, there have been about 4400 risk assessments in the last over 25 years by scientific experts in these 72 countries. All have concluded that GM crops have no difference in risk as compared to their non-GM counterparts. Importantly. several notable scientific bodies around the world like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, USA, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, USA, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS), India have analyzed critically the issue of GM foods safety and found that GM crops are safe from the biosafety angle.
Delaying the adoption of GM crops can have several consequences such as reduced agricultural productivity, and increased dependency on less improved crop varieties and traditional farming practices. Crop varieties developed through conventional breeding methods may not always be sufficient to meet the growing demands for food due to a constant increase in population and fast-changing climatic conditions. Also, farmers may continue to rely more on chemical pesticides and fertilizers. This not only will increase input costs but also pose environmental and farmers’ health risks associated with pesticide use. GM crops offer an alternative and can supplement the ongoing breeding efforts for developing high yielding, pest and disease resistant, and nutritionally enriched crop varieties and hybrids while also enhancing resilience and sustainability in agricultural production.
Further, countries that embrace agricultural biotechnologies, including GM crops (and also genome editing for that matter), may gain a competitive edge in global markets by producing higher yields more efficiently. Recently, China has approved higher yielding GM soybean, corn, cotton and papaya for commercial cultivation for improving its agricultural efficiency. Hence, delaying adoption of GM technology could limit India's ability to compete internationally in agricultural trade. Timely release of GM crops which are at the advanced stage in the regulatory pipeline will provide immediate advantage and benefit to the Indian farmers. Finally, we should derive as much benefit as possible by permitting the cultivation of the genetically improved higher yielding, robust GM crops capable of producing more from less for the welfare of farmers and consumers, and for reducing the environmental footprint of agriculture.
(Prof. K C Bansal is a Former Director, National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (ICAR), and Former Secretary of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, New Delhi. Currently, he is an Adjunct Professor at Murdoch University, Perth, Australia. Email: kcbansal27@gmail.com kc.bansal@murdoch.edu.au)