Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar made a yet another pitch on Tuesday for introducing the genetically-modified (GM) crop into the country to meet the foodgrain requirement for implementing the food security scheme.
Addressing the National Rabi Conference, Pawar said record production during the last few years has given confidence to the policy makers to roll out the ambitious food security bill.
While the current farm output was sufficient to meet the present food grain requirement, Pawar said the real challenge was to sustain the growth in food output despite the drought and floods.
The country’s food grain production stood at 255.36 million tonnes in 2012-13.
Stressing the need to boost farm productivity to meet the fast growing requirement, Pawar said “wherever feasible and considered advisable by our scientists based on field trials and otherwise, we should not hesitate in introducing GM crops to reap the benefits of scientific research in this area.”
“We have no choice but to follow scientific technologies to sustain foodgrain production with limited agricultural land and water resources,” Pawar, who has been batting for the GM technology, told reporters. So far, Bt cotton is the only crop that has been allowed for commercial cultivation in the country.
A technical expert committee (TEC) appointed by the Supreme Court had recently recommended an indefinite moratorium on the field trials of GM crops till the deficiency in the regulatory system and safety issues are addressed.
When asked about the TEC recommendations, Pawar said “The matter is before the court. We are waiting for the decision. We are trying to keep facts before the Court explaining importance of GM crops.”