The government of Karnataka will give No Objection Certificate (NoC) for conducting field trials of any technology developed by the organizations, if the technology helps the farmers, who are producing perishable commodities such as onion and potato.

Speaking at Bangalore India Bio 2013, Mr Shankarlinge Gowda, principal secretary, Horticulture Department, Government of Karnataka, who is holding additional charge of Agriculture Department said, "India is the second largest country producing onion in the world followed by China. In India maximum onion production takes place in Maharashtra followed by Karnataka, Gujarat, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh. Onion is an extremely important vegetable crop not only for internal consumption but also as highest foreign exchange earner among the fruits and vegetables. However, as onion is a perishable commodity, 30 percent of the produce is lost before it reaches the consumers."

Considering the seriousness of the issues, Mr Gowda said, "Any organizations both public and private keen on developing a technology, which supports the farming community in overcoming the issue of perishability, government of Karnataka will give them the necessary support for conducting the field trials in the state by giving NOC in no time."

He also said, "India has had successful green revolution since independence, and we have improved tremendously from food deficient to self sufficient in terms of food grains, though we are still deficient in pulses and oils. About 216 million tonnes of food grains is produced in India annually and we are the major producers of fruits and vegetables with an annual productivity of 215 million tones."

Mr Gowda further said, "By 2030, we will be requiring around 400 million tonnes of food grains. We have to improve agriculture by the implementation of new processes and technologies to meet the needs of the public in future. Though experiments in genetically modified (GM) crops like basmati rice, BT cotton and chick peas is going on, we still have rough and tough situations for field trials. India has to witness at least 2 or 3 green revolutions for increased GDP and productivity. The future perspective of biotechnology and agriculture should be the production of transgenic crops and minimal usage of fertilizers and pesticides. "

"We always feel that the consumer is the ultimate goal but it is the farmers, who are very important and we should take all necessary steps to uplift them by providing latest technologies and facilities, so as to achieve better productivity," concluded Mr Gowda.