The livestock feed industry has petitioned the Central government to allow genetically modified (GM) crops, particularly soyabean, to alleviate the recurring problem of feed scarcity.
Participants at a round-table discussion at the recently concluded National Symposium organized by the Compound Livestock Feed Manufacturers of India (CLFMA of India) on September 25 said the introduction of genetically modified (GM) crops was critical to improving yields and availability of the important feed needed by the industry.
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A single voice
Suguna Holdings Chairman B Soundararajan stated that the country should use GM seeds to achieve feed self-sufficiency. ‘On the maize front as well, we may end up in a situation of scarcity,’ he said.
According to Bahadur Ali, Managing Director of IB Group, the industry needs to talk to the government and persuade it to allow GM crops. ‘We need a unified voice to make our case to the government,’ he said.
Godrej Agrovet, Managing Director, BS Yadav, believes that other nations in the world have improved soyabean productivity by adopting GM varieties.
He called for an image makeover for the poultry industry, saying there was a need to bring together the industry’s fragmented intellect and present the facts to the government for support. Tarun Sridhar, former Secretary of the Government of India’s Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, stated that this situation was caused by ignorance, misplaced facts, and the ideological stance of a few people (anti-GM sentiment).
Anti-GM sentiment exists
He claims that people have been consuming at least a dozen products, such as snacks, that contain some form of the genetically modified ingredient.
He believed that whenever a disease outbreak occurred in the country, negative campaigns targeting the poultry industry resulted in losses.
According to P Krishnaiah, the former Chief Executive of the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), the fisheries industry did not receive the prpoer attention it deserved.
Fisheries industry
‘There is an urgent need for technology and research to be deployed to develop the sector because it has enormous potential to provide livelihoods in rural areas,’ he said.
According to Rahul Kumar, CEO of Lactalis India Limited, the cost of production in the dairy industry is higher than in the United States and Europe.
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He believes that technologies such as cloud data, blockchain, and satellite imagery (to map fodder areas) are needed to help the country become a more efficient milk producer.
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