Biotechnology crops 'vital for productivity'
The adoption in Thailand of biotechnology-enhanced crops is essential for stabilising the country's productivity, making it more competitive in regional and global markets, and helping to alleviate poverty, according to a top-level report commissioned by the Science and Technology Ministry.
The report, entitled "A Study of Agricultural Biotechnology Benefits in Thailand", reviews the socioeconomic impact of the technology and estimates Thailand's loss, should it be rejected here. It contains the latest information about successful adoption of biotech crops around the world, including case studies on cotton and papaya. Biotechnology offers alternatives to conventional breeding to improve plant characteristics so that productivity increases and inputs, such as fertilisers and pesticides, are decreased. Genetic engineering is just one of the techniques in biotechnology for integrating desired characteristics into plants. The report said genetically enhanced varieties of cotton and papaya - both important crops in Thailand - were successfully grown in other countries and were available for adoption here after passing through a biosafety regulatory process. Insect pests and viral diseases have devastated most of the country's traditional production of both these crops. During the 1980s, Thailand's area planted in cotton peaked at more than 150,000 hectares and production at more than 65,000 metric tons. Recently, that area has fallen to less than 11,200 hectares. If genetically engineered cotton was adopted here, it would deliver a benefit to Thailand of US$11.5 million (Bt402 million) per year. Similarly, the adoption of a biotech variety of papaya resistant to the ring spot virus would benefit Thailand by $680 million a year. Yet, after more than a decade of positive results from the adoption of biotech crops, dissenters still remain. "Overall, scientific research in biotechnology and other advanced technologies must be guided by ethical and safety-oriented principles, while respecting the private sector's need to earn a decent return," said Sutat Sriwatanapongse, president of the Biotechnology Alliance Association. "It is essential to harness the benefits of new technologies in sustainable ways to aid the eradication of poverty. "There have been no authorised field trials of biotech crops in Thailand since 2001. The resumption of field trials here would help re-establish Thailand as an agricultural research and development leader in the region, while the improved productivity of biotech crops would positively impact our farmers' quality of life. "The technology would play a role in this country's economic and social development similar to that of information technology over the last decade."
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