Launching
an Integrated and Intensive Campaign to generate public awareness
20.1
An intensive and highly integrated campaign needs to be launched, with
active cooperation of various scientific organizations/institutions/
universities/NGOs to generate public awareness in the country on the following
specific aspects of agricultural biotechnology:
- Concept
of plant breeding, pressures on modern plant breeding and the need for novel
genetic enhancement strategies
- Introduction
to genetic engineering technology
- The
benefits, risks and constraints of agricultural biotechnology
- Current
status of national and global GM crops and other biotechnological
applications in agriculture
- Risk
assessment procedures (regulatory mechanisms) for environmental and food
safety, and related legislations
- Social,
economic, ethical, scientific, environmental and health issues which are
addressed by regulatory bodies before allowing release of GM crops.
- Current
GM products under evaluation in India under biosafety, VCU and other
regulatory trials
- Community
and Farmers’ Rights and benefit sharing related to agro-biotechnological
applications
- Post-release
monitoring and management of GM crops and their products, such as insect
resistance management, transgene stability at the farm level, use of
transgenic diagnostic kits, and maintenance of transgenic seed quality,
should be organized with effective involvement of State Level and District
Level Coordination Committees of the existing transgenic biosafety
evaluation and management mechanism.
