HUNGRY MOUTHS: The two countries are stepping up their research and investment in genetically modified crops as a strategy to help feed their populations

AFP , PATENCHERU, INDIA
Monday, Oct 18, 2004,Page 12

India and China are accelerating investment in biotechnology research to fight the odds in agriculture and feed their teeming mil-lions, say scientists and officials.

Scientists at a workshop in one of India's biggest gene research centers in Patencheru in southern Andhra Pradesh state said China and India accounted for more than half the developing world's expenditure on plant biotechnology.

Margarita Escaler of the US-based International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications said the Asian giants were putting the emphasis on genetically modified (GM) seeds and technology to ensure their billion-plus populations have enough to eat.

"There are around 50 public research units in India and they make investments of US$15 million per year while private spending in India on agri-biotech research amounts to over US$10 million annually," Escaler said.

"In China, funding for agri-biotech research comes entirely from the government and China is only second now to the United States in research investment. China invested US$112 million in biotechnology research in 1999 -- that figure will grow by 400 percent in 2005," she said.

India has not approved any genetically modified food for com-mercialization or consumption. But state-run laboratories are pumping millions of dollars into developing 22 food items ranging from protein-rich potatoes, rice to groundnut.

Scientists expect the GM groundnut to get Indian government approval for commercialization by 2007.
The shifts in China and India appear to be at odds with the widespread rejection of GM technology in many other countries, particularly in Europe.

Biotech advocates say genetic modification boosts output, cuts costs and can improve nutrition.
But critics including environmental group Greenpeace fear the environmental impact and worry GM foods may have long-term effects on health.

"There's no doubt Indian agriculture is in a state of crisis," Greenpeace spokeswoman Divya Raghunandan said.

But she added it was "laughable" that the government was looking at genetic engineering as the solution.