pro-poor, pro-nature & pro-women.
| Inter-disciplinary Dialogue on Biotechnology and Organic Farming |
| Chennai, 7-10 March 2005 |
| Organized by |
| M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation |
| III Cross, Street, Institutonal Area, Taramani, Chennai 600 113 |
| In collaboration with |
| International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement |
| National Commission for Farmers |
| 1 . Agriculture in the developing world is generally characterised by small holdings operated by resource poor farmers. The smaller the farm, the greater is the need for marketable surplus in order to get some cash income. Also land is a shrinking resource for agriculture and small farmers will have to produce more food and other products from diminishing per capita arable land and irrigation water availability. However productivity improvement will have to be achieved without unfavourable ecological or social consequences, as explained by M S Swaminathan in his Presidential Address to the Agriculture Section of the Indian Science Congress at Varanasi on 4 January 1968. The relevant quotation is given below. |
| "Exploitative agriculture offers great dangers if carried out with only an immediate profit or production motive. The emerging exploitative farming community in India should become aware of this. Intensive cultivation of land without conservation of soil fertility and soil structure would lead, ultimately, to the springing up of deserts. Irrigation without arrangements for drainage would result in soils getting alkaline or saline. Indiscriminate use of pesticides, fungicides and herbicides could cause adverse changes in biological balance as well as lead to an increase in the incidence of cancer and other diseases, through the toxic residues present in the grains or other edible parts. Unscientific tapping of underground water will lead to the rapid exhaustion of this wonderful capital resource left to us through ages of natural farming. The rapid replacement of numerous locally adapted varieties with one or two high-yielding strains in large contiguous areas would result in the spread of serious diseases capable of wiping out entire crops, as happened prior to the Irish potato famine of 1854 and the Bengal rice famine in 1942. Therefore the initiation of exploitative agriculture without a proper understanding of the various consequences of every one of the changes introduced into traditional agriculture, and without first building up a proper scientific and training base to sustain it, may only lead us, in the long run, into an era of agricultural disaster rather than one of agricultural prosperity." |
| 2 . Based on the above analysis, the concept of an Ever-green Revolution which is defined as improving productivity in perpetuity without ecological harm was developed. The ever-green revolution methodology is based on an integrated natural resources management strategy and is not just commodity centered as the green revolution technologies. In particular soil health care, water conservation and management and integrated pest management receive attention on a systems basis. Also ever-green revolution technologies involve participatory breeding with farm families and participatory knowledge management systems. |
| 3. Biotechnology involves a basket of technological approaches to promoting the productivity, profitability, sustainability and stability of major farming systems. The biological software essential for sustainable agriculture like biopesticides, biofertilizers, vermiculture and similar techniques receive intensive attention. |
| 4. The aspect of Biotechnology of concern to organic farmers is recombinant DNA technology. Such transgenics have been the subject of considerable debate and discussion. Biosafety protocols are still being evolved in different countries, although the Cartagena Protocol based on the Global Biodiversity Convention is now being implemented. What is now needed is the desegregation of the various concerns relating to genetically modified crops and find an answer to each of these concerns which is satisfactory from the point of view of science and society. Some of these concerns are: |
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| Thus, issues of equity, ethics, environment, economics and health safety are involved. |
| 5 . It is generally said that the Green Revolution was a product of public good research, while the Gene Revolution is largely in the hands of private sector. What steps should be taken to ensure that the new biological technologies are pro-poor, pro-nature and pro-women? Are there examples of recombinant DNA research which are extremely beneficial to sustainable agriculture and sustainable livelihood security of the poor? Such issues will be discussed at MSSRF - IFOAM Dialogue. |