“GM may be the most powerful approach to reduce edible oils import”
Born on July 15, 1946, at Sakharkherda, in Buldana district of Maharashtra, Charudatta D. Mayee, a son of farmer having interests in understanding diseases that are affecting plants, has taken up research as an area of specialisation mainly in Plant Pathology-epidemiology and Management, Oilseed Pathology and Cotton Improvement at Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), commonly known as the Pusa Institute to weed out plant diseases. His research activities were instrumental in carrying bio-efficacy assessment of insect resistant Bt cotton, which was approved by the Government of India in 2002.
Dr Mayee is an accomplished plant protection scientist, an epidemiologist who contributed enormously to the application of cutting-edge science and developing the disease prediction model and identification of hotspot of diseases such as downy mildew in orphan crops grown in semi-arid region. Dr Mayee left indelible mark in his quest for integrated approach to the development of plant protection R&D and agrochemicals sector in India. In his illustrious career of over five decades he published over 200 scientific publications in journals of repute.
Dr Mayee, served as a scientist-par-excellence and able science administrator in highest capacities in both State of Maharashtra and Government of India before his superannuation in 2011. Dr Mayee served as Chairman Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board (ASRB), Government of India (GOI); Agriculture Commissioner, Ministry of Agriculture and Framers’ Welfare, GOI; Director,
Icar-central Institute for Cotton Research
(CICR), Nagpur and Vice-chancellor, Marathwada Agriculture University, Parbhani, Maharashtra. He served as the Chairman of Central Insecticides Board and Registration Committee (CIBRC), and Co-chairman of the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee and many high-powered committees that carried out the most notable reforms in R&D, biotechnology and agrochemical sector.
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce (FICCI) awarded Prof (Dr) C D
Mayee with an award for Distinguished Lifetime Contribution (Individual) in Agrochemical sector during the FICCI Chemicals and Petrochemicals Awards 2021 held as part of India Chem 2021 in March, 2021.
Currently, Dr Mayee, an Adjunct Professor at IARI, New Delhi is holding many key positions at national and international organisations. He will be completing 75 years this month. Agrospectrum spoke to Dr C D Mayee, Chairman of Board, AFC India Ltd. on various aspects like role of startups, promoting agri exports, boosting edible oils seed production and on ban of some agrochemicals. Edited excerpts:
In recent years many agritech startups are providing facilities such as agrifinance, risk management, climate resilience etc. What role startups will play in boosting the growth of agriculture sector?
In the last few years there has been a good pick up of the startups in agriculture. Though agriculture contribute mere 16 per cent to GDP, it engages more than 50 per cent population in the sector and is most unorganized sector.
The major problem is least involvement of modern machineries and technologies along with the gap of supply chain management. Given the financial boost by the Government many startups have emerged in the last 6 years. They are acting as excellent platform for youth to get engaged in agriculture. Several innovative ideas have cropped up and the result is several new innovations have been brought in agriculture.
What can be done to boost the export of agricultural products?
Certainly, exporting agricultural goods is one way of maintaining competitive prices and the benefit must go to farmers whose income can certainly be enhanced. The classical case is of grape exports from Maharashtra as exporting this fruit has certainly benefitted the growers. However, doubling the export is easy said than done because there are hurdles in outcomes and volatile global agriculture commodity market and trade dynamics.
We need to put our house of export promotion in order. When I was APEDA board member till recently it was suggested that first we must identify the infrastructure gaps for commodity specific exports at all ports, explore new possibility to establish a Greenfield Airport exclusively for cargo purposes in proximity to agriculture production center and also create dedicated freight corridor for land locked states. Our export is also hampered by dubious standards. Therefore, we need to identify products whose domestic standards are not aligned with international standards including SPS and ISO standards. We have a very strong base of research through some 76 State Agricultural Universities and more than
103 ICAR institutions devoted to commodity research. If export bodies collaborate with such research organizations they can develop crop, medicinal and aromatic plants, livestock, fish and all allied products needed for a specific geography. Also, we need to diversify our export basket and also the destinations. Instead of raw product export value added products are in demand so need to concentrate on them.
Simultaneously, a serious thrust must focus relentlessly cutting cost and prices to beat others in international market. Farmers must treat as world class producers of quality products and that kind of incentives will certainly help to achieve the target set in the export policy of agricultural goods. We have witnessed the worst period in the history in the last few years still Indian agriculture has shown tremendous resilience and is one of the least affected sectors by Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. Not only our agricultural productivity rose so also our exports as shown by current estimates. From April 2020 to March 2021, India exported agricultural goods excluding marine and plantation products to $29.81 billion in 2020-21, registering a steep increase by 28.36 per cent from $23.23 billion in 2019-20.
We have excess of food grains.
But on edible oil front we have to import to bridge the gap I demand and domestic supply. How can we boost the local production of edible oils to discontinue imports?
I think this is a very pertinent question. We have done remarkably wonders in the last 50 years that from the situation of a ‘Begging Bowl’ today we are a ‘Doner Bowl’. Alas! the edible oil sector and its dependent economy continues to remain behind. I fully agree with you on that count but I must also point out that if we decide to stop import by increasing our domestic production of all oilseed crops, it is possible. What we need a strong policy support on similar lines given through ‘oilseed mission’ under yellow revolution programme in eighties.
India’s yield of oilseed crops is nearly 1/3 or half of the world average. For example, Indian soybean yields have been stagnant around 12001250 kg per ha as against world average of 2450
kg per ha or 3400-3500 kg per ha in Argentina, US and Brazil. What is that these countries have done to enhance yields? The question is simple. They have used the genetic modifications technologies in soybean and canola (mustard). Herbicide and insect tolerant soya are commonly grown there for the last 20 years and we are also importing the entire soya oil derived from GM crop. We too consume our own Bt cotton oil as Bt cotton seeds is grown on 95 per cent cotton area of the country. After successful deployment of the HT and Bt traits in soybean now Argentina, Brazil, US and recently Canada have all approved drought tolerant soya (HB4) as an additional trait.
The subdued supply of edible oils including soybean has greatly impacted the availability of vegetable oils and disruption due to Covid-19 resulted in significant increase in edible oil prices at ground level. Nearly 20 to 52 per cent increase in edible oil has created a chaotic situation in recent times. Unfortunately, the solution though appear logical is being avoided by policy paralysis in respect of GM technology in India. India remains isolated from technological revolutions in edible oilseed crops except cotton where the insect resistant Bt cotton has played a significant role in increasing cotton seed oil from 0.5 million tons to 1.5 million tons within a decade of introduction of the technology.
Thus, GM may be one of the options to reduce import of edible oil, it is the most powerful approach. Fortunately, the scientific community in India is also well equipped to bring the technology. However, innovative business model for investment in robust IP protection framework to secure interest in technology providers covering protection, breeding, biotechnology and future technologies like gene editing need to be introduced.
An important area like crop protection, government as to ban some agrochemicals and was to introduce some new ones. What is the best way forward for a country like India where the chemical will be affordable to small farmers too?
I am happy you raised the question because my field of specialization in agriculture is plant protection. India is the second largest pesticide manufacturer in the world. It is also a major exporter of these chemicals although we consume just 1 per cent of the global use. Indian pesticide consumption pattern is in variance with the developed world because of differing agro-climatic and socio-economic situations. Apparently 27 pesticides comprising of 12 insecticides, 8 fungicides and 7 herbicides are in the list of banning but imagine 134 formulations based on these generic products used on 74 field and horticultural crops go out of market in one stroke reducing the choice for farmers.
Besides registered off-label use of many of these formulations have been documented by the Ministry. In fact, large number of high value- low volume crops like spices, condiments, vegetables, fruits, flowers, nutri-cereals, minor pulses, oilseed crops suffer heavy losses due to pests, diseases and weeds. Unfortunately, many of them are not covered under registered use of plant protection chemicals but are using these products for managing the pests without label claim. The recent efforts of the CIB&RC to have grouping of these crops grown in the country in line with codex classification and recognition of the group MRL has been a laudable step approved by Government for label expansion.
There are many issues that appear to have
been neglected while proposing the draft order. Just because a pesticide is banned in Saudi Arabia, Mozambique, Syria, Palestine, Norway or UK does not qualify it to be banned in India. Majority of the ones proposed for banning have been in long use and there is no serious outbreak of resistance, resurgence or residue reported in them. Most of the countries in the world are in disagreement with EU in banning pesticide on ‘hazard-basis’ as against the usual International norms of biosafety assessment of pesticides
done on ‘risk-basis’ which has been supported by Codex Committee, a body constituted by FAO and WHO. It is good that the new pesticide bill (PMB-2020) which was introduced in Rajya Sabha on March 23, 2020 is now transferred to the Parliament Standing Committee on Agriculture for review and examination as well as the process of banning pesticides is being kept on hold.