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Agricultural Biotechnology and Poverty Reduction in South Asia

M. Hasan
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Salna, Gazipur-1706, Bangladesh

M. I. Khan
Department of Agricultural Economics, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Salna, Gazipur-1706, Bangladesh

N. A. Ivy
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Salna, Gazipur-1706, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

South Asian countries have made remarkable advances in food production accompanied by a dramatic reduction of poverty during the past two decades. This has been due to the result of trade and investment reforms, which have generated economic growth in this region. Despite these changes South Asia generates only 2% of the global income, yet supports 22% of the world’s population and 44% of the world’s poor. Over 75% of the population depends directly or indirectly on agriculture for their livelihoods. Therefore, agriculture will play a major role in the future and massive productivity increases and product diversification will be required. Due to escalating population and urbanization, natural resources are gradually depleting posing major challenges to reduce poverty in this region. The problems confronting these countries are complex and enormous of which the major issues are; declining agricultural land and agricultural population, marginal producers with small land holdings, decreasing per capita land availability, conflicting demands for scarce water resource, urbanization and youth evading traditional farming. This region will be required to produce food for larger and larger populations from less and lees land. The biggest challenge is how to increase output from the shrinking agricultural sector, while sustaining the productivity potential of the available natural resources. The agricultural production systems are changing rapidly in these countries, trend being intensive agriculture using high- tech that provides maximum potential benefit of improved crop germplasm. Agriculture is the largest contributor to the economies of many countries of the developing world. Agricultural biotechnology, which comprises a wide range of biological disciplines, offers enormous potential to speed up the development of plant varieties with pro-poor traits such as drought tolerance, pest resistance or tolerance, higher yields, increased nutritional value, among others. While biotechnology does not provide the ‘silver bullet’ for poverty alleviation, it does enhance the effectiveness of other disciplines such as plant breeding, integrated pest and nutrient management, and livestock breeding, feeding and disease management.

Keywords: Biotechnology, Poverty, South Asia

Location: Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Salna, Gazipur

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Conservation and Biodiversity

Non-commodity: Adoption and mitigation technology

Objectives:

To escalating population and urbanization, natural resources are gradually depleting posing major challenges and
To reduce poverty in this region.

Methodology:

The programme on plant biotechnology in Bangladesh was initiated in late 1970s in the Department of Botany, Dhaka University with tissue culture of jute. Thereafter within a span of 10-12 years tissue culture research laboratories have developed in different universities and R&D organizations. As a result of intensive work on plant tissue culture protocols on plant regeneration and micro-propagation have been developed on different crops, forest plants, ornamental and fruit trees as well as vegetables. These in vitro regeneration protocols are now awaiting for commercial exploitation. It is expected that with the establishment of private entrepreneurs commercial utilization and expansion of tissue culture techniques will gradually find its due place in Bangladesh. There is considerable evidence that agricultural research has led to significant increases in productivity and enhanced incomes in developing countries. The development of improved cultivars and management practices, mechanization, improved plant nutrition and crop protection technologies have been in the forefront of agricultural technologies contributing to increased crop yields in many developing countries. The Green Revolution, which is commonly referred to as “seed revolution” which predominated in the early 1960s contributed to unprecedented increases in food production, wheat and rice yields increased by several folds. Due to the impact of green revolution the incidence of rural poverty declined as agricultural growth and purchasing power of the people rose. Advances in agricultural science and technology has increased productivity, hence it will be an important drive to improve food and nutritional security and reducing the number of poor in the coming years. As more than 90% of the of the food consumed in poor countries are produced locally, the efficiency of production has to be improved for the well being of the poor, through the use of appropriate technologies. However, innovations in agricultural research alone will not reduce poverty in the absence of poverty–focused policy and action. It is noted that the agricultural research policies often does not mention poverty alleviation as a specific target. In many of the Asian countries reforms and structural adjustments have had positive impact on productivity but poverty levels remained static, sometimes increasing. To have effective research on poverty alleviation, governments should incorporate criteria such as equity and poverty focus into market driven agricultural development. This means that the voice of the small farmers in agricultural research in market integrated agricultural systems should be strengthened. This is because large farmers or commercial agriculturists have a greater influence over the agricultural agendas, leaving the small farmers with technology problems that are inappropriate for the reasons of scale, cost, managerial complexity or simply because they are irrelevant to the main problems of market integration. All the countries of South Asia are pinning great hopes on agricultural biotechnology to alleviate poverty and hunger. Biotechnology seems to offer unlimited potentials for solving old and new problems. Most of the countries in the region are in the process of developing manpower in this area. Some countries such as India have gone far ahead in this process by not only developing the skilled manpower, but also investing in the infrastructure for research. Most of the smaller nations are struggling to achieve in this field, often constrained by brain drain and inadequate infrastructure. Although the biotechnological research is costly its application will be within the reach of the farmers and other users in the Asian region, they will also require skills in their application, hence at the beginning only the progressive farmers may adopt the technologies. The pro-poor features of biotechnology will include reduction in the cost of production with the use of less expensive inputs such as bio fertilizers, biological management of pests, detection of pathogens and their bio control and applicability of biotechnological tools in a wide range of conditions for dry and marginal lands. There are also other features of biotechnology, which could be used in conjunction with traditional farming practices.

Source of Information: Progress. Agric. 18(2) : 247-254, 2007 ISSN 1017-8139

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Economic development in developing countries will, of necessity, have to be initially linked to agriculture (broadly defined to include crop, livestock, forestry and fish). Staple crops and livestock are the most likely to promote economic growth in the continent. To date, public sector investment in biotechnology in developing countries has led to few products. This has, in part, been due to lack of viable private sector partners who are able and willing to take new products to markets. There is also a critical need for innovative public/private sector partnerships which will help link public investments in R&D with private ‘know-how’ and technology for product development. The scientists of Bangladesh are trying their level best to get significant achievement in the field of biotechnology. They are working on Bt brinjal and late blight resiatant potato GM lines. In the field of molecular characterization of crop varieties, Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) took the leadership in organizing morpho-molecular characterization of plant varieties for their protection. The other important project areas of BAU are development of transgenic protocols for transformation of rice and Brassica varieties with saline resistance genes. For biotechnology to create wealth, at least the following must happen: there has to be a clear definition of priorities/targets (participatory research can assist in target identification); the best of relevant science regardless of where it comes from around the world must be mobilized and adapted to address the identified targets (a mechanism for proactive identification of new, relevant science must be put in place); and a critical mass of resources (human and financial) must be available for the targets to be met. In addition, the local private sector and communities need to be involved in product development and commercialization so that new technologies can be both affordable and accessible. Further, more delivery mechanisms have to be developed so that new (bio) technologies are accessible to those who need them.

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