Sandhya Tewari issued a warning to a recent biotechnology conference.
“Let’s not create a bio-divide.”
Companies making use of agriculture biotechnology justify the need for
the new science by saying it is going to feed the world’s hungry.
But the deputy director of the Confederation of Indian Industry said,
so far, all the benefits associated with technology such as genetic
modification seem to be flowing toward developed nations.
“Emerging economies are a little bit nervous,” Tewari told delegates
Read Also
Agriculture ministers agree to AgriStability changes
federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million
attending last week’s Agricultural Biotechnology International
Conference 2002 in Saskatoon.
She said the world market for biotechnology products amounts to $30
billion US a year. Emerging nations’ share of that pie is negligible.
Tewari wants to see western-based biotechnology companies share some of
their products and expertise with others such as India and in Africa.
Peter Turner, general manager of Monsanto Canada, said that is already
happening, but it took a biotech body slam to bring it about.
“We almost became drunk on biotechnology,” said Turner during his
speech on stewardship at the ABIC conference.
A “shocking” consumer backlash against the company’s genetically
modified crops eventually convinced Monsanto it had been too
heavy-handed in introducing the new technology.
After thousands of meetings with consumer groups, housewives, activists
and anybody else with thoughts on the subject, Monsanto issued a public
pledge to listen more, consider its actions and their impact and to
lead responsibly.
One component of the five-point pledge is a commitment to bring
biotechnology products and knowledge to the developing world.
Since it announced the pledge two years ago, Monsanto has helped
develop a golden mustard with a non-profit institute in India that
yields cooking oil high in pro-vitamin A, which could help hundreds of
thousands of children suffering from vitamin deficiencies. And it has
offered the free use of its patented technology for a similar project
involving rice.
The company has also made data available to the world’s research
community for developing a more nutritious, higher-yielding rice, which
is a staple in many poor people’s diets. It has shared technology on
virus-resistant potatoes, sweet potatoes and papaya.
Tewari said that is the kind of assistance they are looking for from
biotechnology companies. She
doesn’t expect them to pass on information pertaining to high value
crops like GM soybeans and GM canola, but sharing advancements in crops
like rice and pulses could help feed starving people in the developing
world. But she doesn’t like the idea of each biotech company developing
its own sharing program.
Tewari wants to see a partnership formed between public institutions
and private firms.
