Genetic engineering undeniable need for growing food demand
Experts, officials tell int'l conference
Genetic modification and engineering of crops for high yield is an undeniable need for feeding the ever increasing population and against the backdrop of depleting arable land, said leading experts and high officials at an international conference in the capital yesterday.
Simultaneously, the foremost challenges are conserving biosafety and biodiversity and bringing confidence into the common man that crop engineering is safe for humans and the environment, said Prof Mesbahuddin Ahmad, president of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences (BAS). Such crops are “the only answer to meet the growing demand for food”, he said.
South Asia Biosafety Program (SABP) in collaboration with BAS, the Department of Environment (DoE), Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC), Biotech Consortium India Ltd (BCIL), and National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS), India jointly organised the two-day 3rd Annual South Asia Biosafety Conference (SABC) at Brac Centre.
Any misgivings and apprehension in the public mind regarding the safety of engineered crops should be dispelled with the established scientific knowledge and research findings, said Dr Kamal Uddin Ahmed, secretary to the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
The demand for food in Bangladesh is expected to double in the next three decades, he said.
Bt Brinjal and Golden Rice with enhanced nutrition are two successes of engineered production in Bangladesh with potato in the pipeline, said Dr Abul Kalam Azad, executive chairman of Barc. Bangladeshi scientists are researching on around 200 varieties of crops to make them tolerant to drought, salinity, flood and climate change situations, he said.
Bangladesh's rice production increased from 10 million tonnes in 1971 to 35 million tonnes at present and it is all about future food security, he added.
Country Coordinator, South Asia Biosafety Program and Dhaka University's Dean of Biological Sciences Faculty Prof M Imdadul Hoque; Hem Kumar Pande, special secretary to the ministry of environment, forest and climate change of India; DoE Director General Raisul Alam Mondal; UNEP Manager Alex Owusu Biney; and BAS Secretary Prof Khawaja Muhammed Sultanul Aziz also spoke.
A host of renowned scientists from home and different south Asian countries are participating in the conference.