The Hindu Business Line : Call for consensus on GM crops in Asia

THE Government on Wednesday said there was need for consensus and cooperation among Asian nations to address issues related to genetically-modified (GM) crops.

Inaugurating an RIS seminar on `Biotechnology for Asian development', the Planning Commission Chairman, Mr K.C. Pant, said: "Collective thinking and coordination among Asian countries would be fruitful not only for the WTO committees discussing traceability and labelling, equivalence and precautionary principle, but also at other fora on GM foods."

The issue of import regulations for GM foods and other items were of significance in the context of the WTO as, at present, production and import of GM crops are legal only in a few countries, he said.

Considering a possible diffusion of GM crops across developing countries, Mr Pant said the focus should be on capacity building in terms of handling GM crops in the fields. He said that a genetic literacy drive to ensure popular participation in the biotechnology revolution and enhanced public and private investments in R&D and production.

"This is important if we are to fully harness the potential of these powerful technological tools," he said, adding an enabling environment for growth of the industry also depended on terms of IPR regime, availability of finance, infrastructure and venture capital.