Manila, The Philippines
August 24, 2007
The
Philippines may yet learn a lot from India's experience in
managing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton and thus boost the
farm sector through agricultural biotechnology.
Experts say India's agricultural biotechnology has emerged as
one of the fastest growing in the entire world in recent years,
and the latest
report of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) attributes
this to the phenomenon of the genetically-improved Bt cotton.
Among the many institutions involved in biotechnology
commercialization is the
International Crop Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics
(ICRISAT), which is based in India and has been at the forefront
of promoting agricultural biotechnology in the country.
ICRISAT has an incubator that has done wonders in developing Bt
corn and other products that are appropriate to India and has
been utilized as well to develop new technology that promotes
commercialization of biotechnology products.
One technology that it commercialized is BT cotton by Seedworks
(I) Pvt Ltd. ICRISAT-ABI provided the enterprise with support on
biotechnology techniques, biosafety consultancy, biotech lab and
greenhouse infrastructure.
This has not been lost on Filipino biotech experts who nurtured
the commercialization of Bt corn more than four years ago in
their belief that it would boost the country's production and
trigger an agri-biotech revolution.
A number of "Pinoy Biotek" products are in the pipeline and
waiting commercial release.
Genetically-improved crops that grow faster, yield better, and
are superior in traits can offer farmers a better chance to
maximize output and increase incomes, experts said.
In India, agricultural biotechnology has become the third
largest contributor among various biotech sectors, with total
revenues of more than $229 million in 2006-2007, which meant a
growth of 55 percent, the USDA said.
Export revenue from agriculture biotechnology has grown to $11.6
million in 2006-2007 from just $8 million the previous year, it
added.
The report, entitled "India
biotechnology" and prepared by Santosh Kumar Singh, claimed
Bt cotton coverage has surged over the past five years to cover
70 percent of the area planted to cotton in 2007.
Data from India's Ministry of Agriculture, Bt cotton acreage
stood at 24.4 lakh hectares, out of a total of 72.3 lakh
hectares covered by cotton until July 20 of the on-going kharif
season.
The USDA report said continuing legal issues on the pricing of
Bt cotton seed are likely to be detrimental to technology
transfer and foreign direct investment in India's biotechnology
sector.
It alleged that the regulatory process governing the
biotechnology sector is not entirely science-based. "The
regulatory process, which is still evolving, is not entirely
science-based," it said.
The Environmental Protection Act of 1986 lays the foundation for
India's biotechnology regulatory framework, which involves many
monitoring committees.
Commenting on import policy, USDA said India's trade policy
stipulates that imports of all biotech food and agricultural
products, or products derived from biotech plants or organisms,
should receive prior approval from the Genetic Engineering
Approval Committee (GEAC).
"The only biotech product approved for commercial imports by
India so far is soybean oil derived from round-up ready soybeans
for consumption after refining," it said.
The balance of trade between India and the United States is
heavily in favor of the former and is nearly 3:1.
"US exports to India was estimated at $365 million while India's
exports to the US stood at $1.04 billion in 2006," the report
said.
Agricultural trade between the US and India reached a record
$1.4 billion in 2006, which excludes fish and forest products,
it added.
India's major agricultural exports to the US include cashew,
sugar, spices, essential oils, processed horticultural products,
rice, tea and castor oil.
US exports almonds, cotton, fresh fruits, pulses, soybean oil,
processed horticultural products and other consumer food
products to India.
Biotech advocates in the Philippines said the only way to
compete in agricultural trade and level the playing field
somehow is through agricultural modernization.
Current advances in biotechnology, aided significantly by
international networks like ICRISAT, promote technology transfer
and speed up commercialization. |
|
