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Why it is vital for Pakistan?
Biotechnology is making
it possible for researchers and developers to deliver products
that help farmers protect their crops; and improve the economy
and environment while they grow grains that improve the
quality of the food we eat.
For thousands of years, people have used biotechnology to
produce foods such as cheese and bread with bacteria and
yeast. The genetic manipulation of both animals and plants
started in early prehistory. Archaeological findings and
suggestions from ancient writings support the view that there
were rudimentary agricultural crops at least some 7,000 to
9,000 years ago, in the hills between Iran and north-western
Iraq, from where they spread to the valleys between the Tigris
and Euphrates. In fact, all the plants now grown had started
from ancient wild relatives. Similarly, all the domesticated
animals came from the genetic modification of their wild
ancestors. A tremendous amount of plant science data reveals
natural crossings between species and even spontaneous
mutations. It is also known that new species arise from these
natural hybridizations and mutations.
Since the discovery of DNA, the most important advance in
Genetics has been the discovery of the restriction enzymes in
1972, which allowed DNA to be cut at specific sites and then
put back together. Next came the discovery of polymerize chain
reaction (PCR), which allowed fragments of DNA to multiply.
The identification of specific DNA genes for desirable traits,
and the transfer of those genes into another organism
constitute genetic engineering. The gene transfer involves the
use of a vector carrier, which can be a plasmid or a virus.
The full potential of genetic engineering is still unknown and
the results so far achieved are only the beginning. Such
breeding methods largely accounted for the phenomenal gains in
productivity during the 20th century.
Market Scenario
Although the first genetically modified (GM) plant, an
antibiotic-resistant tobacco, was developed in 1983, but the
growth of crops derived through agricultural biotechnology has
exploded since introduction of the first major GM crop in
1996. Monsanto, which launched the first major genetically
modified crop in 1996 with Roundup Ready soybeans (glyphosphate-tolerant).
Since then the global market for GM/transgenic crop products
grew rapidly from 1995 to 1999. Global sales were estimated at
$75 million in 1995, reaching $1.6 billion in 1998, and
increased to an estimated $2.1-2.3 billion in 1999, according
to the International Service for the Acquisition of
Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA). The global market for the
GM crops is projected to reach approximately $8bn in 2005 and
$25bn in 2010.
Between 1996 and 1999, 12 countries contributed to more than a
twenty-fold increase in the global area of the GM crops,
according to ISAAA. In 1999, the global area of GM crops
increased by 44 per cent or 12.1 million hectares from 27.8
million hectares in 1998 to 39.9 million hectares, according
to ISAAA.
Prospects
The world population has topped 6 billion people and it is
predicted to double in the next 50 years. Ensuring an adequate
food supply for this booming population is going to be a major
challenge in the years to come. GM foods promise to meet this
need in a number of ways:
Pest resistance: Crop losses from insect pests can be
staggering, resulting in devastating financial loss for
farmers and starvation in developing countries. Farmers
typically use many tons of chemical pesticides annually.
Consumers do not wish to eat food that has been treated with
pesticides because of potential health hazards, and run-off of
agricultural wastes from excessive use of pesticides and
fertilizers can poison the water supply and cause harm to the
environment. Growing GM foods such as Bt-cotton and Bt-corn
can help eliminate the application of chemical pesticides and
reduce the cost of bringing a crop to market. Pakistani
farmers spend billions of rupees on pesticides and fertilizers
each year. But by saving costs of fertilizers and pesticides
this technology can improve the quality of our farmer life
style and the environment.
Herbicide tolerance: For some crops, it is not
cost-effective to remove weeds by physical means such as
tilling, so farmers will often spray large quantities of
different herbicides to destroy weeds, a time-consuming and
expensive process, that requires care so that the herbicide
doesn't harm the crop plant or the environment. Crop plants
genetically engineered to be resistant to one very powerful
herbicide could help prevent environmental damage by reducing
the amount of herbicides needed. For example, Monsanto has
created a strain of soybeans genetically modified not to be
affected by their herbicide product Roundup. A farmer grows
these soybeans, which then only require one application of
weed-killer instead of multiple applications, reducing
production cost and limiting the dangers of agricultural waste
run-off.
Disease resistance: There are many viruses, fungi and
bacteria, which cause plant diseases. Plant biologists are
working to create plants with genetically engineered
resistance to these diseases.
Cold tolerance: Unexpected frost can destroy sensitive
seedlings. An antifreeze gene from cold-water fish has been
introduced into plants such as tobacco, potato and
strawberries. With this antifreeze gene, these plants are able
to tolerate cold temperatures that normally would kill
unmodified seedlings
Drought/salinity tolerance: As the world population
grows and more land is utilized for housing instead of food
production, farmers need to grow crops in locations previously
unsuited for plant cultivation. Creating plants that can
withstand long periods of drought or high salt content in soil
and groundwater help people to grow crops in formerly
inhospitable places. Hence, GM is one method to address our
current drought situation, which has a declined growth rate of
our agriculture sector from 6 per cent to - 2 per cent in the
year 2000-01, while it has rigorously affected our GDP, by
bring it to level 2.5 this year.
Nutrition malnutrition: It is common in Third World
countries, such as Pakistan, to find impoverished people
relying on a single crop such as rice, wheat for the main
staple of their diet. However, rice does not contain adequate
amounts of all necessary nutrients to prevent malnutrition. If
rice could be genetically engineered to contain additional
vitamins and minerals, nutrient deficiencies could be
alleviated. For example, blindness due to vitamin A deficiency
is a common problem in third world countries. Researchers at
the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Institute for Plant
Sciences have created a strain of "golden" rice containing an
unusually high content of beta-carotene (vitamin A). Since
this rice was funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, a
non-profit organization, the Institute hopes to offer the
golden rice seed free to any third world country that
requests. Plans are underway to develop "golden" rice, which
also has increased iron content.
Pharmaceuticals and vaccines: These are often produced
costly, and sometimes require special storage conditions not
readily available in third world countries. Researchers are
working to develop edible vaccines like ' hepatitis-B' in
tomatoes and potatoes. These vaccines will be much cheaper,
easier to ship, store and administer than traditional
injectable vaccines.
Phytoremediation: Not all GM plants are grown as crops.
Soil and groundwater pollution continues to be a problem in
all parts of the world. Plants such as poplar trees have been
genetically engineered to clean up heavy metal pollution from
contaminated soil.
GM Livestock
Transgenic animals are designed to help diagnose and treat
human diseases. Several companies have already designed such
products, and are now running tests on transgenic mammals that
produce important pharmaceuticals in the animal's milk.
Products such as insulin, growth hormone, and tissue
plasminogen activator that are currently produced by
fermentation of transgenic bacteria may soon be obtained from
the milk of transgenic cows, sheep, or goats. Pakistan has
large number of cattle, therefore, we can benefit from it if
we adopt GM technology and conduct research in transgenic
animals.
Conclusion
Biotechnology is making it possible for researchers and
developers to deliver products that help farmers protect their
crops; and improve the economy and environment while grow
grains that improve the quality of the food we eat.
Biotechnology will enhance quality of life in many ways, while
helping the environment by reducing our dependence on
non-renewable resources. But that's just the beginning. We
have to understand the importance GM and its role and
influence on our future growth, health and environment.
By Ijaz Ahmad Rao
Email:
luckystarpk@yahoo.com
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