AGRI-BIOTECH –A ROAD MAP

ByDr. (Mrs.) Manju Sharma

BIRAC Foundation Day

20-22 MARCH, 2013

HABITAT CENTRE, NEW DELHI

While addressing the 15th Regional FAO Conference at New Delhi, in 1980, the late

Prime Minister, Smt. Indira Gandhi had said :

“Food is the very foundation of life. Today, with the help of industrial

technology, we produce a myriad of things, but food production must always remain our first concern.”

In view of our growing economy,population explosion and shift in thedietary pattern, the challenge is todouble the food production by 2025 andtriple it by 2050 with less per capitaarable land and less water underincreasingly adverse environmentalconditions.

India has 184 million ha. arable land.Produces 15 million tons of fruits and

vegetables (2nd largest in the world)Produces 204 million tons of foodgrains

(3rd largest in the world)Current year about 250 million tons of

foodgrains

Nutritional StatusWe still continue to have the largest number of hungry people, a quarter of estimated 820 million in the world. Area of great concern.

An indicator of national development – the nutritional status.

According to UN Reports 2007, under-weight children below the age of 5 – 43% in India, higher than the sub-Saharan Africa (28%) and South Asia (42%).

Malnutrition contributes 60% of the 10 million deaths globally every year among children under 5 years of age –in India 2.1 million child deaths.

Dr. Shenggen Fan, Director General, International Food Policy Research Institute, in his 7th TAAS Foundation Day Lecture, on January 11, 2013, stated :

“The loss in productivity as a result of micro-nutrient deficiency is estimated to cost India the equivalent to 2.95% of GDP annually (FAO, 2012)”.

Micro-nutrient deficiency such as Vitamin A, Iron and Iodine bring about mental and physical weakness and reduce the productivity of adults. Wide spread in India.

Biotechnological Interventions

Norman Borlaug, while addressing the lectureon ‘Role of biotechnologies in agriculture’, inNew Delhi, on 12th March, 2009, said :

“We need the best of biotechnologies, the best ofcytogenetics and breeding programme. A packageis essential. The new technologies have openedup doors and we should use it to be able toproduce food needed by 8.2 billion people infuture.”

He also said that “good public sector supportedprogramme in biotechnology, linked with geneticsand breeding are called for.”

Biotechnology is the hall-mark for an young innovative and fiercely competitive world market.

It is knowledge intensive and technology based and driven by R&D.

Enormity of bioresources and biodiversity gives India an advantageous position.

Biotechnological tools of Genomics, rDNA Technology, Bioinformatics, Cell Biology etc. along with the basic understanding of Molecular Biology offer a bonanza to choose The Best in the interest of the country and farmers.

ROAD AHEAD -

Gautam Budha said :“Of all diseases, hunger is the greatest,

………………….there is no other treasure equal to that of

rice.”In our daily prayers the human beings say :“Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us for our trespasses.”

1950-51 a net importer of food grain with domestic production of 50 million tons to a position of self-sufficiency of food grains. Green revolution played a major role.

Can we now move forward with an ‘Ever Green Revolution’ (Prof. M S Swaminathan) and gene revolution to meet the daunting challenges of hunger, poverty and mal-nutrition.

Some of our major concerns: Plateauing of yield level Per capita available land decreasing. High input based agriculture has decreased

the soil water system and depleted carbon contents, fertility of soils and led to salination of about 8 million ha. of irrigated crop land and water logging in some parts.

Acute variations in water available in different parts of the country and falling water tables.

Pulse production has remained low. The average intake of protein, vitamins and other micro-nutrients also inadequate.

Increased pest disease problem, declining input use efficiently of chemical fertilizers, and declining input-output ratio making farming less and less remunerative. We urgently need sustainability of our agricultural production system to be maintained.

The scientific community, particularly modern biologists, biotechnologists, and agricultural experts must address the crucial challenges of hunger, poverty, mal-nutrition, environmental degradation, climatic change etc.

R&D in agriculture with biotechnologicalinterventions :Marker aided breeding programmeBioprospecting of new genes and

development of transgenics with novelcharacters and traitsTo increase the yield on a sustainable

basisTo increase the nutritional efficiencyTo reduce crop losses

Move towards new technological choices to reduce consumption of water, energy, and less drudgery for the farmers. Bio-fortification using conventional molecular breeding approaches.Development of micro-nutrients - iron, zinc, magnesium and vitamin-A, enriched verities, specially of the staple crops consumed by the poorer sections of the society.

Conservation and enhancement of ecological foundations, biodiversity and bioresources for sustainable agriculture.

The available gene pool using plant cell culture, genetic transformation through rDNA technology for crop improvement.

Molecular approaches for improvementof biofertilizers and biopesticides.

All aspects of climate change – temp.,water, biodiversity, rainfall, soil types,measurements, modelling studies anduse of remote sensing technologies.

Structural, functional and application oriented genomics research. To ensure quality control – toxicity, allergy, side-effects, bio-availability studies – all essential.New food processing technologies to prevent post-harvest losses; innovations are needed, specially, to help the grass-root population.

“The introduction of apomixis or seed cloning into crop plants would herald perhaps the single greatest change in agricultural practice since the beginning of cultivation.”

(Gene News, Sep.- Oct. 2007)

Nano biotechnology, fruit ripening, developing designer crops with novel traits etc. Selecting some location specific crop and pursuing its enrichment. Looking at the vast gene pool and wild germplasm – ecology

Transgenics From 1996 – 2011 Global Area of Biotech Crops

has sustained growth rate of about 8% reaching 160 million hectare.

Number of farmers:- 2011 – 16.7 million BT Cotton adopted in India as hybrids in 2002;

double digit growth; 2010 – 2011: - 11 million hectare – 12.1 million

hectare Major states: Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra

Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu etc.

Source: Clive James, 2011

Industry

Agri-Biotech is the 3rd largest contributor to Indian biotech industry with a turn over of US$ 225 million – almost 14% of the total biotech revenues.

18.5% to India’s GDP and 13% to country’s total exports.

(From BIRAC)

0.51

0.22

0.57

0.03

0.30

0.01

0.59

2.15 0.04

0.84

6.20

3.60

10.57

0.11

0.67

2.64

1.83 Black Pepper - 100 ha, 5 states

Bamboo - 400 ha, 12 states;

Large cardamom –105 ha, 3 States

Vanilla – 105 ha, 3 States

Demonstration of Tissue culture raised Quality planting material

2 Micropropagation Technology Parks 6 Hardening Units

15 million plants produced and field

planted over an area of 12000 ha in multi-

locations covering 23 States

Vast, diverse infrastructure, institutional mechanisms, finances etc. are all available; scientific community also aware of the gravity of the problem.

We need to launch Missions of different types, including intense R&D efforts.

Networking, international collaboration with a purpose and interacting with social scientists as well.

Sharing of Rice Genome Sequencing

1 2 5 6 7 8 9 10 123 457.3 cM

116.2 cM

151.4 cM

160.0 cM

11

94.4 cM

93.2 cM

90.2 cM

3.2 cM

4.4 cM

68.2 cM

77.7 cM

83.2 cM

To Conclude

I reiterate the urgency, gravity and serious concern. We face a stupendous task and a challenge before the scientists and professionals.

Plant kingdom is a treasure house for humankind. A source of energy, nutrition, health and other basic requirements. The traditional plant breeding methods enabled scientists to modify genes among sexually competent plants.

The rDNA technologies with tissue culture and new plant breeding practices can lead to the development of plants with desired quality traits.

Agri. and plant biotechnology have mushroomed – use of molecular markers for breeding.

DBT has made commendable efforts in this direction. Starting with : CPMBs, NIPGR, IBSD, ICGEB, NABI, and a large number of cooridnated projects; a National Bioresource Development Board; major initiatives in biofertilizers, biopesticides and in the last 10 years holding hands with the industry - BIPP, SIBIRI, and now BIRAC.

Joint R&D, demonstration and training programmes with ICAR, Agriculture Universities, and also some CSIR laboratories.

Mission mode projects with focussed objectives of improving productivity and introducing biotic and abiotic stress resistance.

Nutritional enhancement of crops –examples already available in the country.

“Golden” Rice

GR - 2µg carotenoid /1gm rice Kernal

Given 300 gm/person/day = 600

µg Carotenoid

1n terms of Ratinole Activity Equivalent

(RAE)

50 RAE/300 gm rice. Normal requirement

of RAE = 400

AmA1 GM Potato

[US Patent No. 5,670,635 (1997)]

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (1992) 89: 11774-11778

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., USA, (2000) 97: 3724-3729

♦ AmA1:Single copy gene isolated from Amaranthus hypochondriacus

♦ Origin : Edible crop plant

♦ AmA1 GM potato is non-allergenic

♦ Expression of AmA1 in GM potato leads to :

35-50% increase in total protein content Increase in essential amino acids No yield penalty in transgenics

Capacity building, dispelling the fear from the minds of people, specially the farmers about biotechnologies and GM food.

Agri-biotech needs innovations and their applications at all levels - scientists, farmers, landless labourers and poorest strata of the society.

Agri-Biotech can leap frog with thesupport and collaboration with industry.Enormous opportunities and challengesahead.

Some suggested major inter-disciplinary and inter-institutional, time bound, result oriented missions to be launched with clear milestones: To enhance the pulse production, a novel molecular

approach Introduce insect resistant crops – biotic stress and

abiotic stress resistant Improve the nutritional efficiency of staple crops To combat mal-nutrition, development of new

recipes, nutraceuticals, crops with better bio-assimilation.

To reduce the post harvest losses, delayed ripening of fruits and vegetables

Human resource development from the view point of employment generation

Specific crop oriented missions for :RiceWheat, andSugarcaneSelecting coarse grains, millets, ragi, bajra,

etc. and enriching them with micro-nutrients

“World peace will not be built on empty stomachs and human misery. Deny farmers access to modern technology and the world will be doomed, not from environmental degradation, as some would have us to believe, but from starvation and social and political chaos ”

Norman E. Borlaug, Nobel Prize-winning agronomist

IN 1920, MAHATMA GANDHI WROTE IN‘YOUNG INDIA’:

“WE WANT TO ORGANISE OUR NATIONALPOWER NOT BY ADOPTING THE BESTMETHOD OF PRODUCTION ONLY, BUT BYTHE BEST METHOD OF BOTH THEPRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION”.

HE SAID : “BEST OPTION FOR INDIA WITHITS LARGE RURAL POPULATION IS BIO-INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT, RATHER THANINDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT.”

THANKS