Feature
Biotech Crops for Poverty Alleviation
Jewel Rana
AGRICULTURE is the largest contributor to the economy of many developing countries; generating more than half of the annual GDP. Fifty percent of the world's poorest people are small and resource-poor farmers, and another 20% are the rural landless dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. It is unfortunate, but true that we live in such a world where one amongst every six persons, in the developing world, has no access to food and 2.8 billion people live on less thanUS$2 per day. At the world Food Summit, 186 countries committed pledge for the reduction by half the number of undernourished people by 2015. Combating poverty involves actions to increase food security and per capita income. Increasing income of small and resource-poor farmers will contribute directly to the poverty alleviation of a large majority of the world's poorest people. Science and technology are globally recognized as the drivers of increased wealth and continuously improving standard of living.
Agribiotech comprises a wide range of biological discipline, offers enormous potential to speed up the development of plant varieties with pro-poor traits such as drought tolerance, higher yields and increased nutritional value among others. Biotech/GM crops can play a great role to alleviate global poverty. In USA, farm income gain from biotech crops (HT soybean, Bt potato, Bt maize etc.) is $15.9 billion. Biotech cotton has already made a significant contribution to the income of poor farmers in the first decade (19996-2005), and this can be enhanced significantly in the second decade. The most recent survey of the global impact of biotech crops for the period 1996 to 2006, estimates that the global net economic benefits to biotech crop farmers in 2006 was US$7 billion and US$34 billion. India, the largest democratic country in the world has already adopted biotech crops and benefited a lot. India's cotton growing area represents 25% of the global area of cotton but the indigenous cotton yields were some of the lowest in the world. In 2002 India adopted Bt cotton (a biotech crop) for the first time and became the leading cotton growing country of the world in 2007. Approximately, 3.8 million small and resource-poor farmers planted Bt cotton and the enhanced farm income was US$840 million in 2006.China was also benefited hugely by producing biotech crops like Bt cotton, biotech rice etc. It is projected that biotech rice could deliver benefits of the order of US$4 billion per year. Iran became a major rice producing country by adopting Bt rice. In fact, Iran and China are most advanced in the commercialization of biotech rice which is the principal food of the poor. In 2007,the number of countries planting biotech crops increased to 23, and comprised 12 developing countries (USA, France, Germany, Canada etc.) and 11 industrial countries (India, Honduras, Uruguay, China etc.). The rapidly advancing countries of the developing world (India, China) have targeted modern biotech crops as a priority for development. We cannot end poverty simply by voting a single politician or feeling bad when we see a picture of starving child. Its biotech crops that have the tremendous potentials to alleviate poverty in the present world.
The role of agribiotechnological innovation in economic change and sustainable development is receiving attention in national , regional and international levels. However by far, the most important potential contribution of biotech crops will be their contribution to the MDG of reducing poverty and hunger by 50% by 2015. In Asia,600 million rural people are living in extreme poverty and this rural poverty will remain life threatening for millions of rural poor for decades to come. Failure to provide this critical support at this time to biotech crops will risk many developing countries including Bangladesh missing out on a one-time window of opportunity and to become permanently disadvantaged and non competitive in crop productivity, with all its dire implications for the hope of alleviating poverty. Biotec crops as well as agribiotech cannot prevent wars. These cannot stop typhoon or Sidr but can be a powerful tool to fight against global poverty. We cannot let one class of people oppress another class by monopolizing control of natural sources. A transparent and science based debate is essential for maximizing the potential of crop biotechnology.
(MS student, Dept. of Biotechnology Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh)
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