ReutersToday, GM crops are cultivated on 185 million hectares of land by more than 18 million farmers in 26 countries. Illustration:
A government panel has approved an application seeking environmental clearance of indigenously grown genetically modified (GM) mustard seeds, experts say, paving the way for commercial use of the country's first GM food crop.
A government panel has approved an application seeking environmental clearance of indigenously grown genetically modified (GM) mustard seeds, experts say, paving the way for commercial use of the country's first GM food crop.
A top Indian scientist and agriculture expert said that the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), a unit of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, has approved GM mustard seeds.
Three government sources, who requested anonymity as per official rules, also confirmed the approval.
The lab-grown mustard was developed by Delhi University scientist and former vice-chancellor Deepak Pental and his team. Pental and his colleagues have worked on GM mustard for more than a decade.
"I can call it a historic development," Pental told Reuters on Wednesday.
He said commercial use of GM mustard would take a few years.
India is the largest importer of edible oils in the world. It spends billions of dollars each year importing cooking oil, as the country meets more than 70% of its vegetable oil demand through imports from Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil, Argentina, Russia and Ukraine.
"The GEAC decision recognizes the potential of biotechnology to address the issue of India's growing edible oil imports," said Bhagirath Choudhury, director of the non-profit scientific organization South Asia Biotech Center.
Many scientists and agriculture experts have called for a rapid withdrawal of GM crops in India, where farms are shrinking as rapid urbanization and uncertain weather threaten the production of staples such as rice and wheat.
But conservative politicians and advocacy groups have opposed lab-grown crops because they believe GM crops can compromise food security and biodiversity and pose a health risk.
India first allowed GM farming with genetically modified cotton in 2002. Apart from GM cotton, New Delhi has not approved any other transgenic crop.
GM cotton helped transform India into the world's No. 1 cotton producer and second-largest exporter of the fiber as production increased four-fold.
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