'Societal Response to Transgenic Crops: Apathy, ideology or fear of the unknown?' a talk by by Prof. Deepak Pental at Seminar Room, Library Building, Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML), Teen Murti House, Teen Murti Marg > 3pm on 20th February 2014
Time : 3:00 pm
Entry : Free (Seating on First-Come First-Served basis)
Place : Seminar Room, Library Building, Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML), Teen Murti House, Teen Murti Marg, New Delhi - 110011
Venue Info : Events | About | Map | Nearest Metro Station - 'Race Course(Yellow Line)'
Event Description : The Nehru Memorial Museum and Library cordially invites you to a Public Lecture in the ‘Science, Society and Nature’ series on ‘Societal Response to Transgenic Crops: Apathy, ideology or fear of the unknown?’ by Prof. Deepak Pental, University of Delhi, Delhi.
Abstract : Currently, around 47 per cent of India’s population of 1.21 billion is dependent upon agriculture for livelihoods. In 2023, when India goes past China’s projected population of 1.45 billion, it is expected that 42 per cent of our population will still be on land. Agriculture cannot match manufacturing or export oriented services in bolstering the economy, but it is downright churlish to underplay the role of agricultural growth in improving rural incomes and securing India’s food and nutritional needs. The country requires concerted and focused efforts on achieving low-input, high-output agriculture and growth rates of around eight per cent for the sector that contains all kinds of crops, livestock and fisheries. Unfortunately for the past two decades we are clocking a little above three per cent growth rate for the sector – much below our potential. Higher growth rates for rural India will require action on many fronts – development of permanent assets like roads and storage space, more efficient supply chains, reduced water usage so as to spare some water for other sectors, improved soil health, crop rotation and finally breeding for higher and stable yields – utilizing the best that science and technology has to offer. Transgenic technologies could be very useful for breeding crops which are resistant to diseases and pests and have enhanced nutritional value. Bt cotton is a small but potent example. Many more transgenics are on the anvil. Transgenic crops were grown in around 174 million hectares of land in 2013. None of the transgenic crops that have been released after due biosafety tests have been found to have any adverse effect on the environment or health and well-being of non-target organisms. Most of the claims on adverse effects have not stood the test of rigorous scientific appraisal. Transgenic technologies are based on some remarkable achievements in R&D and hold great promise, but unfortunately the overall technology has raised many fears – some legitimate, some ideologically motivated and some mischievous. India has to make a choice between using more benign technologies of plant breeding or agro-chemicals for increasing output while facing challenges of shrinking natural resource base and climate change uncertainties. For this transgenic technologies have to be used in conjunction with other methods of plant breeding. A number of years have been wasted leading to deskilling of scientists and poor generation of open source knowledge on genomics and transgenics in our country. It is time we take a decision in favour of proper use of science and technology.
Speaker : Prof. Deepak Pental is currently Professor of Genetics at the University of Delhi South Campus. His group has research interests in breeding of mustard and cotton. He has published more than seventy research papers in national and international peer reviewed journals and his lab’s work has led to significant breakthroughs in hybrid seed production technologies and breeding of mustard, a major oilseed crop of India. He is an elected member of all the major science academies of India and is recipient of many awards which include – Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship in 2004 ‘Officer Des Palmes Academiques’ by the Government of Republic of France in 2007, Om Prakash Bhasin Award in 2008, FICCI award in 2010 and a D. Sc (hc) from the University of Nottingham in 2012. He is a recipient of the J. C. Bose Fellowship of the Department of Science and Technology. Prof. Pental served as Vice-chancellor of the University of Delhi from 2005-2010. He has keen interest in policy issues related to higher education and agriculture and has written extensively on these issues.
Entry : Free (Seating on First-Come First-Served basis)
Place : Seminar Room, Library Building, Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML), Teen Murti House, Teen Murti Marg, New Delhi - 110011
Venue Info : Events | About | Map | Nearest Metro Station - 'Race Course(Yellow Line)'
Event Description : The Nehru Memorial Museum and Library cordially invites you to a Public Lecture in the ‘Science, Society and Nature’ series on ‘Societal Response to Transgenic Crops: Apathy, ideology or fear of the unknown?’ by Prof. Deepak Pental, University of Delhi, Delhi.
Abstract : Currently, around 47 per cent of India’s population of 1.21 billion is dependent upon agriculture for livelihoods. In 2023, when India goes past China’s projected population of 1.45 billion, it is expected that 42 per cent of our population will still be on land. Agriculture cannot match manufacturing or export oriented services in bolstering the economy, but it is downright churlish to underplay the role of agricultural growth in improving rural incomes and securing India’s food and nutritional needs. The country requires concerted and focused efforts on achieving low-input, high-output agriculture and growth rates of around eight per cent for the sector that contains all kinds of crops, livestock and fisheries. Unfortunately for the past two decades we are clocking a little above three per cent growth rate for the sector – much below our potential. Higher growth rates for rural India will require action on many fronts – development of permanent assets like roads and storage space, more efficient supply chains, reduced water usage so as to spare some water for other sectors, improved soil health, crop rotation and finally breeding for higher and stable yields – utilizing the best that science and technology has to offer. Transgenic technologies could be very useful for breeding crops which are resistant to diseases and pests and have enhanced nutritional value. Bt cotton is a small but potent example. Many more transgenics are on the anvil. Transgenic crops were grown in around 174 million hectares of land in 2013. None of the transgenic crops that have been released after due biosafety tests have been found to have any adverse effect on the environment or health and well-being of non-target organisms. Most of the claims on adverse effects have not stood the test of rigorous scientific appraisal. Transgenic technologies are based on some remarkable achievements in R&D and hold great promise, but unfortunately the overall technology has raised many fears – some legitimate, some ideologically motivated and some mischievous. India has to make a choice between using more benign technologies of plant breeding or agro-chemicals for increasing output while facing challenges of shrinking natural resource base and climate change uncertainties. For this transgenic technologies have to be used in conjunction with other methods of plant breeding. A number of years have been wasted leading to deskilling of scientists and poor generation of open source knowledge on genomics and transgenics in our country. It is time we take a decision in favour of proper use of science and technology.
Speaker : Prof. Deepak Pental is currently Professor of Genetics at the University of Delhi South Campus. His group has research interests in breeding of mustard and cotton. He has published more than seventy research papers in national and international peer reviewed journals and his lab’s work has led to significant breakthroughs in hybrid seed production technologies and breeding of mustard, a major oilseed crop of India. He is an elected member of all the major science academies of India and is recipient of many awards which include – Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship in 2004 ‘Officer Des Palmes Academiques’ by the Government of Republic of France in 2007, Om Prakash Bhasin Award in 2008, FICCI award in 2010 and a D. Sc (hc) from the University of Nottingham in 2012. He is a recipient of the J. C. Bose Fellowship of the Department of Science and Technology. Prof. Pental served as Vice-chancellor of the University of Delhi from 2005-2010. He has keen interest in policy issues related to higher education and agriculture and has written extensively on these issues.
'Societal Response to Transgenic Crops: Apathy, ideology or fear of the unknown?' a talk by by Prof. Deepak Pental at Seminar Room, Library Building, Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML), Teen Murti House, Teen Murti Marg > 3pm on 20th February 2014
!['Societal Response to Transgenic Crops: Apathy, ideology or fear of the unknown?' a talk by by Prof. Deepak Pental at Seminar Room, Library Building, Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML), Teen Murti House, Teen Murti Marg > 3pm on 20th February 2014]()
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Thursday, February 20, 2014
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