Basic scientific concepts of biotechnology: historical perspective and development of modern biotechnology

Vibha DhawanVice Chancellor

TERI School of Advanced Studies6th February 2005

Food problems have haunted mankind since time immemorial

• Expanding the cultivated area• Technological Breakthroughs

By mid 1960s, hunger and malnutrition were widespread, especially in Asia

• 1967: Report of the US President’s Science Advisory Committee concluded that the “scale, severity and duration of the world food problem are so great that a massive, long-range, innovative effort unprecedented in human history will be required to master it”

• The Rockefeller and Ford Foundations took the lead in establishing an international agriculture research system to help, transfer and adapt scientific advances to the conditions in developing countries

• The first investments were in rice and wheat

• The breeding of improved varieties, combined with the expanded use of fertilizers, other chemical inputs and irrigation, led to dramatic yield increases in Asia and Latin America, beginning in the late 1960s

Technological Breakthroughs

• Modern plant breeding, improved agronomy, development of inorganic fertilizers & pesticides and expansion of irrigated areas helped in increasing crop productivity.

Example: Wheat It took nearly 1,000 years for wheat yields to increase from 0.5 to 2 metric tonnes per hectare, but only 40 years to climb from 2 to 6 metric tonnes per hectare

Green Revolution: Blessing or curse

• Focus on a few grain crops: wheat, rice, maize

• High inputs: fertilizers, pesticides• High resource farmers: irrigated

lands• Crop yield: the major goal

Salient Features of Green Revolution

• Higher yields

• More responsive to plant nutrients

• Shorter and stiffer straw

• Early maturity

• Resistance to major pests and diseases

Social Impacts• Increased farm income • Stimulation of rural non-farm economy • Expansion of marketing services• Real per capita income almost doubled in Asia and

poverty declined from nearly three out of every five Asians in 1975 to less than one in three by 1995

• The absolute number of poor people declined from 1.15 billion in 1975 to 825 million in 1995 despite a 60% increase in population

Problems associated with the Green Revolution

• Environmental degradation • Increased income inequality• Inequitable asset distribution• Decline in nutritional security

Some of the criticisms are valid and are still need to be addressed

• Excessive and inappropriate use of fertilizers and pesticides has polluted waterways, poisoned agricultural workers and killed beneficial insects and other wildlife

• Irrigation practices have led to salt build-up and thus abandonment of faming lands

• Ground water levels are retreating • Heavy dependence on few major cereal

varieties has led to loss of biodiversity on farms

Green Revolution: Criticism

Some of these outcomes were inevitable as millions of farmers began to use modern inputs for the first time but inadequate extension and training and absence of effective regulation of water quality, input pricing and subsidy policies made modern inputs too cheap and encouraged excessive use creating negative environmental impact

Today there is a tendency to overstate the problem and to ignore the appropriate counterfactual situation

What would have been the magnitude of hungerand poverty without the yield increases of the Green Revolution and with the same population growth?

Often ignored is the positive impact of higher yields that saved huge areas of forests and environmentally fragile lands that would have otherwise be needed for farming

Stark Realities…..

• 800 million people cannot afford two course of meals

• About 30,000 people, half of them children, die every day due to hunger and malnutrition

• Nearly 1.2 billion people live on less than a dollar a day

“In the next 50 years, mankind will consume as much food as we have consumed since the beginning of agriculture 10,000 years ago - Clive James”

Problems with Agriculture in Developing Countries

• Green Revolution fatigue• Low productivity

– Small holdings– Subsistence– Mercy of monsoon– Limited water and land– Disease, pests, drought, weeds– Storage and transportation

Conventional plant improvement methods are reaching their limitsAgricultural growth is now 1%

compared to 3% in 1970s

Thus, technology must evolve and percolate to the end-user at a

much faster pace

“We must aim at an agricultural growth of 4% per year, if India has to achieve its ambition of overall economic growth rate of over 8 %

per annum”(Prime Minister’s Inaugural Speech at National Conference on Krishi Vigyan

Kendras in New Delhi. October 27, 2005)

The Prime Minister reemphasized in the India Economic Summit 2005

(23rd November 2005)

Though the Xth Plan assumed a growth rate of 4% for agricultural production, the reality was different…. the first 3 years we have not

been able to ensure 1.5% rate of growth…. We are focusing on technological breakthroughs for scaling up yields….

Modern genetic modification

Inserting one or few genes to achieve desired traits

Transfer of genes into crop plants– Relatively precise and predictable– Allows flexibility

Biotechnology can add value to global agriculture!

• Environmental impact - decreased use of pesticides

• Reduced losses from pests and diseases

• Improved nutritional efficiency• Improved productivity• Post harvest quality - prolong

shelf life of fruits, vegetables and flowers

• Stress tolerance - drought, acidity, salinity, temperature...

Why Biotechnology?• Knowledge-based approach • Offers unique solutions• Integrates technology delivery• Scale-neutral• Does not displace traditional methods• Environment-friendly• Portable - across crops• Versatile - impact on all facets of food chain

from producers to consumers

How biotechnology can help developing countries and resource-poor farmers?

• Improve food and nutritional security• Enhance production efficiency• Promote sustainable agriculture• Reduce environmental impact• Empower the rural sector through

income generation & reduce economic inequality

• Reduce crop damage & food loss

Constraints to biotechnology development and assimilation in developing countries

• Finance• Technical capability• Infrastructure• Ambivalent policies• Trade issues

•Biosafety regulation•Intellectual property protection•Public perception

All Biotechnologies does not mean GM; Traditional Biotechnologies offers no resistance, yet not commercialised in developing countries such as Tissue Culture, Biopesticides, Biofertilizers

Traditional Biotechnologies – Gap Analysis

• Awareness about the potential benefits

• Extension mechanism• Microfinancing

Micropropagation“Micropropagation” is a technique of regenerating clonally uniform plants under aseptic conditions

Stages of Micropropagation

Technologies: Micropropagation

Micropropagation Technology Park (MTP)

Technologies: Micropropagation (Contd)

Inoculation Room at TERI’s MTP

Growth Room at TERI’s MTP

Major Objectives: • Large-scale multiplication of superior clones of

various species using tissue culture • Mass propagation of species that are difficult to

regenerate by conventional methods• Transfer of proven technologies to the industry/

entrepreneurs• Impart training for large-scale production of

plants by tissue culture• To serve as a technology resource centre for

up-coming units

Micropropagation Technology Park (MTP)(Established in 1991 through DBT support)

Two Pronged ApproachA) With unknown active moleculesProspecting of plant diversity for new active molecules via bioassay mediated isolation of plant extracts

B) With known active molecules: e.g. Azadirachta indica, Glycerrhiza glabra, Withania etc.Prospecting of diversity for active ingredient in different plant varieties / accessions

Bioprospecting of Plant Diversity for Biomolecules

• Consortium product of AM and EM • Hyphal fusion based product• Cocktail of beneficial organisms• Specific product for wheat, pulse, rice

rotation• Mycorrhiza for Organic farming and its

package of practices for various plants

Mycorrhizal Research

IPM Chemical

Control

Sugarcane with various treatments for pest and nutrient management

Crop nursery from the sugarcane setts of Tissue Cultured plants

Our Experiences

Demonstration and capacity building to absorb new technologies must be developed

Questions to Ponder• Are we making adequate research investments?• Do we have long term research policies?• Implications of IPR on agriculture in developing

countries?• Do we need to invest on gene discovery or work on

borrowed genes?• Are our strategies geared up to meet global

challenges?

The challenge before us is to produce nutritious food for all

at affordable price

GoalEvery citizen of this planet has the right to have enough nutritious food at an affordable price & to achieve this goal, technologies must be developed/ upgraded and made available to every practicing farmer.