Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
used.in.both.Bt.cotton.and.Bt.eggplant,.Mahyco.led.the.partners.in.streamlining.the.
development.of.a.comprehensive.environmental.and.food.safety.regulatory.package.
for.Bt.eggplant.event.EE-1..The.regulatory.ile.complied.by.Mahyco.for.event.EE-1.
was.made.available.in.the.Ministry.of.Environment.website.(http://www.envfor.nic.
in/divisions/csurv/geac/information.brinjal.htm)..The.same.dossier.was.provided.to.
all. partners. for. submission. and. review. of. relevant. information. by. their. respective.
regulatory. bodies,. thus. accelerating. the. approval. process. in. these. two. countries..
Proactive.and.frequent.interactions.with.the.regulatory.bodies.in.the.three.countries.
also.helped.in.accelerating.the.approval.process.
A.proactive.information,.communication,.and.education.strategy.was.also.devel-
oped. very. early. in. the. project. implementation. to. address. anticipated. public. and.
market.perception.issues..The.communication.design.followed.the.product.develop-
ment.pathway.so.that.the.communication.and.outreach.activities.and.messages.were.
focused.on.the.needs.of.speciic.stakeholders.as.the.product.moved.from.the.develop-
ment.stage.toward.regulatory.clearance,.precommercial.stage,.and.eventually.toward.
the. commercial. stage.. An. important. feature. of. the. communication. strategy. was. a.
regular.survey.of.perception,.attitude,.and.level.of.knowledge.and.information.needs.
of.stakeholders.about.biotechnology.in.general.and.the.Bt.eggplant.in.particular.
CONCLUSION
Asia.is.home.to.more.than.half.of.the.world's.population.as.well.as.to.the.highest.num-
ber.of.poor.people.suffering.from.hunger.and.malnutrition..Ensuring.the.food.security.
of.Asia.is.a.formidable.challenge.not.only.because.of.the.enormous.demand.brought.
about.by.a.growing.population.with.rising.incomes,.but.because.the.additional.food.
will.have.to.be.produced.amidst.decreasing.land.and.water.resources.and.increasingly.
severe.and.frequent.biotic.and.abiotic.stresses.attendant.to.climate.change.
The.region.accounts.for.about.75%.and.50%,.respectively,.of.the.global.hectarage.
growing.vegetables.and.fruits..Horticultural.crops.thus.comprise.a.major.part.of.the.
region's. and. the. world's. agricultural. production. and,. being. high. value. cash. crops,.
contribute. substantially. to. the. income. and. well-being. of. millions. of. farmers. and.
consumers.especially.in.the.developing.countries.
Modern.biotechnology.applications,.including.genetic.engineering,.are.a.power-
ful. tool. to. complement. the. conventional. methods. of. crop. improvement.. Asia. cur-
rently. has. three. countries. cultivating. biotech/transgenic. crops—China,. India,. and.
the.Philippines,.but.only.China.commercially.grows.a.transgenic.fruit.crop,.a.papaya.
engineered. for. virus. resistance.. Biotech-improved. blue. rose. is. also. cultivated. in.
Japan.and.as.an.ornamental.crop.would.qualify.as.a.new.commercial.transgenic.hor-
ticultural.product.in.the.region..Genetic.engineering.of.various.horticultural.crops.
is.extensively.pursued.by.most.countries.in.the.region.that.have.developed.the.basic.
capacity.to.undertake.modern.biotechnology.
Timely.development.and.commercial.deployment.of.biotech.horticultural.crops.
in. the. region. are. hampered. by. several. constraints,. including. (1). access. to. propri-
etary.biotechnology.applications,.(2).regulations.(or.the.absence.thereof).and.costs.of.
regulatory.compliance,.(3).technical.capacity,.and.(4).market.and.public.acceptance..
Overcoming.these.constraints.are.key.to.effective.development.and.use.of.a.broader.
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