@農자료창고

• GM technology is not suitable for farmers with small holdings

• South Asian countries lack infrastructure for testing and labelling of GM crops

• Regulatory frameworks for GM crops are weak in Pakistan and other South Asian countries

Small farmers, who constitute the majority of South Asian farmers, do not benefit from GM crops, says Pervaiz Amir.
 
In May 2014, a Pakistani court directed the national bio-safety committee to suspend issuance of new licences for growing GM crops until there was a proper legislative framework and adequate facilities for testing and screening.[1] It was a long overdue step. Pakistan, along with other South Asian countries, took to GM technology without addressing regulatory issues first.

Neighbouring India saw the illegal sale of GM cotton seeds preceding official approval for commercial cultivation. In 2009, India imposed a moratorium on growing GM brinjal, or eggplant, but in October 2013 Bangladesh became the first South Asian country to approve commercial cultivation of a GM version of the vegetable. GM food crops such as maize, rice and vegetables are now poised to enter the South Asian market on a large scale, either through the efforts of foreign companies or of domestic agricultural research institutes, but regulation remains a thorny issue.

The uncontrolled expansion of GM cultivation, without adequate regulation in place, could lead to widespread contamination of non-GM crops. Similarly, market domination of a few GM strains could wipe out local crop biodiversity and lead to non-sustainable farming systems with grave implications for the economy.

Regulation apart, GM seeds are no panacea for the kind of smallholder agriculture that is typical in South Asia where the majority of farmers have fewer than five hectares of land. It is clear that GM crops should be introduced only after extensive scrutiny and screening to protect the livelihoods of millions of small South Asian farmers. There is a strong need for reform and revision of regulatory frameworks that address the interests of smallholder agriculture and not just those of private companies.

Pakistan's experience with Bt cotton

Since 2008 Pakistan has been growing Monsanto's genetically modified Bt cotton (cotton with a gene from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis to fight the bollworm pest) in over 80 per cent of its 2.5 million acres cotton-growing area in Sind and Punjab provinces. GM maize is in the pipeline, though no varieties have yet been released, and the fate of those 14 applications pending approval for release is unclear in the light of the recent court order.

What, however, goes under the clearance radar are GM seeds of flowers and vegetables and even trees, imported surreptitiously by several private farmers. These are difficult to identify in the absence of adequate testing and labelling infrastructure and also because quarantine check posts at airports are seldom effective.

파키스탄 has had mixed experience with GM cotton. Despite its aggressive promotion by both private companies and some scientists from the country's public-funded crop and biotechnology institutes, small farmers have not been able to reap anything like the promised 50 per cent rise in yields. 

Small farmers at a disadvantage

Test and regulate

생물다양성이 무엇이고, 왜 중요한지에 대해서는 다른 글들을 검색해 보시길 바라고...

여기에서는 멋진 지도를 하나 소개해 드리겠다. 

세계의 생물다양성 분포도. 빨간색일수록 엄청나게 다양한 생물들이 살고 있는 지역이고, 군청색이 짙을수록 그렇지 않은 곳이다. 

아래 지도에서 보면 라틴아메리카, 아프리카, 동남아시아가 정말로 온 인류에게 소중한 곳이라는 걸 느낄 수 있지 않은가?

한국은 생물다양성이 풍부한 곳이라고 말하곤 하지만 실제로는 저 러시아의 생태축과 연결되지 않는 한 그다지 다양한 생물들이 살고 있지 않다. 백두산 호랑이의 주무대가 아마 그러할 것이다. 

아래는 순서대로 라틴아메리카의 조류, 포유류, 양서류의 다양성을 보여주는 지도.