Biotechnology: answer to agricultural pollution

The vegetables, fruits and other food items we consume everyday are often tested of having pesticides. Pesticides also cause heavy ground and water pollution. But what if we were to replace pesticides with something equally effective and non-polluting? The answer is biotechnology with the alternatives it offers – bio pesticides and bio fertilizers.

“Bio pesticides are made out of genetically modified micro organisms which naturally eat up pests without damaging the crop. There is no question of pollution as there is no polluting element present,” professor (Biotechnology) KB Roy of the Institute of Integrated Learning and Management (IILM) said.

Advisor to the Ministry of Agriculture on organic farming, Mukesh Gupta said: “The main contents of Bio pesticides are bacteria and fungus. Some bacterial elements that harm the crops are eaten by the bacterial composition present in these bio fertilizers, which protects the crop.”

He said that breeding certain bio-organisms like the nitrate-producing bacteria could serve as the best replacement for chemical fertilizers.

Added Madhur B Hans, assistant professor, IILM who was also present in the conference: ” The production of bio fertilizers initially requires a lot of investment when the bio-organisms are genetically modified. Once the process starts, they keep multiplying on their own, saving money in production.”

But Roy felt that many more developments to increase the popularity of these methods should be made. “Most of the research and development, the most important aspect of biotechnology is done abroad because of which methods and technologies have to be either imported or primarily because of lack of funds, people resort to old means.”

“More institutes should be opened for research in this field because it definitely has a bright future in an agrarian economy like ours,” said Roy.

Though popularity is significant.

According to National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) estimates the production of bio fertilizers increased from 23 metric tones in 1995-96 to 177 metric tones in 1998-99, and the figure is continuously rising.

Opined Mukesh Gupta: “The production and demand in Rajasthan state alone has risen to 30 metric tones during the last decade. Infact, companies that manufactured chemical fertilizers are actively promoting bio fertilizers for which they have also earned a lot of credibility.”

But biotechnology has more to contribute to farming, feels Gupta: “Developing hybrid varieties of seeds, healthy edible oil with increased nutritive value, medicinal plants, flowers, aromatic herbs, coffee, tea, mushrooms as well as mangoes are just a few ways biotechnology can help. It also helps in increasing productivity for meeting the food demands of the ever increasing population of our country.”

He added that if organic milk, organic animal husbandry, organic oil seeds, organic serials and pulses and organic herbals are produced in Rajasthan, an additional Rs. 25,000 crores worth stock can be added to the existing production capacity.

Experts said that biotechnology could be used in many different spheres of life.

“If we are talking about the future, then information technology and biotechnology are complimentary to each other. While genetically facilitating things would be the responsibility of biotechnology, information technology can help spreading the word around,” professor KB Roy said.