We will back field trials of GM crops : Sharad Pawar

27 February 2014 | News | By Rahul Koul Koul

Sharad Pawar, union agriculture minister, government of India

Speaking at the two-day national conference on agriculture for kharif campaign on February 26, 2014, the union agriculture minister, Mr Sharad Pawar reaffirmed the government's commitment to promotion of bio-technology for agriculture development.

"We have to accept the fact that there is little scope of area expansion for agriculture. In fact, the burden on land is bound to increase. We have to meet the burgeoning demand of food grains, fruits, vegetables, etc. from the limited land base. The only mantra is the increasing the productivity. The use of bio-technology for this purpose is imperative. Bio-technology has great potential to improve yields. Government is committed to the use of bio-technology and other new technologies for agriculture development and backs field trials of GM crops with 'crop-specific dedicated monitoring protocols system,'' remarked Mr Pawar.