The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Biotechnology is safe, says Monsanto official

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Biotechnology is safe, says Monsanto official

Staff Reporter

`Over eight million farmers in 20 countries worldwide have benefited from the more productive methods of farming introduced by biotechnology.' It is the only answer to meet the food security need of the world, claims Robert T. Fraley

Defending biotech: Robert T. Fraley, Chief Technology Officer of the biotech major Monsanto, speaking at a programme in Bangalore on Tuesday. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

BANGALORE: Robert T. Fraley, Chief Technology Officer of the biotech major Monsanto, said on Tuesday that his company is conducting research on introducing "Omega-3" in vegetables, a move that could help in brain development and prevent arthritis and heart ailments.

Speaking on "Agriculture biotechnology: Growing option — helping farmers to grow our food," Mr. Fraley said that with the current growth rate in world population, countries are now competing to double their agricultural yield.

He said that in the past 10 years, biotechnology has been tested on more than one million acres of land worldwide and it has established itself as a safe technology. Biotechnology is the only answer to meet the food security needs of the world and combat problems related to malnutrition, limited arable land, soil degradation and insufficient fresh water, he said.

New products approved

Mr. Fraley said research is being conducted on 57 crops in 63 countries to improve yield, resistance to pest and drought and nutrient value. As many as 15 new products have been approved by the European Community alone, he added.

Monsanto, he said, proposed to introduce its new products "Yieldguard Cone" in India soon, followed by its cotton variant "Bollgard Cotton II" next year. These biotechnology crops will have an enhanced spectrum of insect control and an improved quality of yield.

The company proposes to launch its new product, "Flex Cotton," in the U.S. next year, he said. He said that the company is researching a nitrogen-tolerant gene, which will increase the growth rate of the plants by enhancing the nitrate uptake.

On the controversial terminator technology, Mr. Fraley said it is only in the laboratory stage. "As a company, we have no intention of using it for commercial purposes," he said.

Genomics

He said rapid advances in genomics have led to the production of new hybrid varieties of corn, soybean and cotton among other crops. Mr. Fraley used Bollgard Cotton as an illustration of a high yielding, low maintenance transgenic, which is successfully being used in India.

Developments

Developments in agricultural biotechnology include increased "weedicide" resistance, better nitrogen uptake and improved drought resistance of crops. Over eight million farmers in 20 countries worldwide have benefited from more productive methods of farming introduced by biotechnology, he said.

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