One more post about the train ride before I give a farm tour. It is time for an academic reflection, or at least an attempt at one through my stagnant jet lag. My train ride from Delhi to Dehradun provided an excellent introduction and starting point to my thoughts here at Navdanya. I was seated next to Dr. Promode Kant, who really opened up once found out I was heading to Dr. Vandana Shiva's farm to work on biodiversity. He, in fact is right now working on a paper discussing the effect climate change has on the survival of rice varieties. He even emailed me a copy of the paper, which I will get to eventually.
He was, overall, very excited about me heading to the farm, but did have some ideas to share with me about Dr. Vandana Shiva's work. Dr. Kant is the Director of the Institute of the Green Economy here in India and has also been a visiting professor all over Europe discussing the biodiversity of planting rice in Agroforestry. His one concern was the lack of technology in Vandana Shiva's work. While many biotech companies are overusing technology in the form of abusing the environment and landscape, Dr. Kant believes some forms of technology are still needed in order to feed the increasingly dense population of India. He also pointed out that the low cost of technology such as cell phones and computers, has given some equal opportunities to lower income Indians. And while there is much more to say about that, the opportunity to be more connected with the world has it's privileges, as well.
In my couple of days here I have been thinking about the lack of technology on this farm, as well. Granted, this is a seed farm, so the majority of food grown here is saved for seed. We eat some of the food grown, but would the farm be able to sustain itself if it were growing food? Are any of the local farmers using machinery and technology to produce food for their local villages? How many people are they feeding with their practices? And is it an efficient use of the land space that is shrinking so fast here in India?
Within the stack of newspapers we both received on the train, Dr. Kant also pointed out a very interesting article for me to read. I found the same article on-line in the Indian Express, I definitely recommend reading it: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/how-many-gene-traits-can-a-seed-have/843826/
I was very interested in the end of the article which discusses the allowance of Genetically Modified (GM) crops in India. Currently in India, Biotech companies (Monsanto, Biocon) have to get approval from Agriculture, Environment, and Science and Technology Ministries in order to use GM crops in Indian cities. So far, only 3 out of 29 states in India allow the use of GM seeds, and only Bt cotton has been approved in India so far. However, India also ranks among the top five countries in terms of GM acreage and there are currently field trials for GM corn. Biotech companies are now working to form a Biotech Regulatory Authority of India, which would be a five-member body that does not require state approval to use GM seeds. The article states that this is likely to be tabled in the next Parliament session, but it will be an interesting bill to follow. This is just the beginning of a whole list of issues I would like to follow while I am here.
He was, overall, very excited about me heading to the farm, but did have some ideas to share with me about Dr. Vandana Shiva's work. Dr. Kant is the Director of the Institute of the Green Economy here in India and has also been a visiting professor all over Europe discussing the biodiversity of planting rice in Agroforestry. His one concern was the lack of technology in Vandana Shiva's work. While many biotech companies are overusing technology in the form of abusing the environment and landscape, Dr. Kant believes some forms of technology are still needed in order to feed the increasingly dense population of India. He also pointed out that the low cost of technology such as cell phones and computers, has given some equal opportunities to lower income Indians. And while there is much more to say about that, the opportunity to be more connected with the world has it's privileges, as well.
In my couple of days here I have been thinking about the lack of technology on this farm, as well. Granted, this is a seed farm, so the majority of food grown here is saved for seed. We eat some of the food grown, but would the farm be able to sustain itself if it were growing food? Are any of the local farmers using machinery and technology to produce food for their local villages? How many people are they feeding with their practices? And is it an efficient use of the land space that is shrinking so fast here in India?
Within the stack of newspapers we both received on the train, Dr. Kant also pointed out a very interesting article for me to read. I found the same article on-line in the Indian Express, I definitely recommend reading it: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/how-many-gene-traits-can-a-seed-have/843826/
I was very interested in the end of the article which discusses the allowance of Genetically Modified (GM) crops in India. Currently in India, Biotech companies (Monsanto, Biocon) have to get approval from Agriculture, Environment, and Science and Technology Ministries in order to use GM crops in Indian cities. So far, only 3 out of 29 states in India allow the use of GM seeds, and only Bt cotton has been approved in India so far. However, India also ranks among the top five countries in terms of GM acreage and there are currently field trials for GM corn. Biotech companies are now working to form a Biotech Regulatory Authority of India, which would be a five-member body that does not require state approval to use GM seeds. The article states that this is likely to be tabled in the next Parliament session, but it will be an interesting bill to follow. This is just the beginning of a whole list of issues I would like to follow while I am here.
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