📰 The new hybrid variant of mustard
How significant is the development of the Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11 (DMH-11)? Why are some activist groups opposing the commercial release of the crop? What are their allegations? How many transgenic crops are commercially cultivated in India?
•The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), India’s apex regulator of genetically modified plants and food products, has approved the environmental release of Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11 (DMH-11), a genetically-engineered variant of mustard.
•Trials conducted over three years by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) suggest that DMH-11 has 28% higher yields than its parent Varuna and was 37% better than zonal checks, or local varieties that are considered the best in different agro-climatic zones.
•Activist groups allege that the GM mustard hasn’t been evaluated as a herbicide tolerant crop posing potential risks. They also allege that GM mustard plants may dissuade bees from pollinating the plant and this could have knock-off environmental catastrophes.
The story so far:
•The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), India’s apex regulator of genetically modified plants and food products, has approved the environmental release of Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11 (DMH-11), a genetically-engineered variant of mustard. If approved for commercial cultivation it would be the first genetically modified food crop available to Indian farmers.
What is DMH-11?
•DMH-11 is a hybrid variant of mustard developed by researchers at The Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants, at the University of Delhi. Deepak Pental, who has led the efforts to develop hybrid mustard at the Centre for decades and was a former Vice-Chancellor of the University, began with DMH-1, a hybrid variant that was developed without transgenic technology. DMH-1 was approved for commercial release in northwest India in 2005-2006 but scientists have said that this technology wasn’t bankable enough to consistently produce hybrid mustard. While India has several mustard varieties, it is a self-pollinating plant and therefore a challenge for plant-breeders to cross different mustard varieties and induce desirable traits. Being able to turn off this self-pollinating trait to enable such crossings and then restoring the trait, to enable seed production, is how the mustard plant’s genes are to be manipulated. DMH-11 is a result of a cross between two varieties: Varuna and Early Heera-2. Such a cross wouldn’t have happened naturally and was done after introducing genes from two soil bacterium called barnase and barstar. Barnase in Varuna induces a temporary sterility because of which it can’t naturally self-pollinate. Barstar in Heera blocks the effect of barnase allowing seeds to be produced. The result is DMH-11 (where 11 refers to the number of generations after which desirable traits manifest) that not only has better yield but is also fertile. DMH-11 is a transgenic crop because it uses foreign genes from a different species.
Are hybrid mustard varieties better ?
•Trials conducted over three years by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) suggest that DMH-11 has 28% higher yields than its parent Varuna and was 37% better than zonal checks, or local varieties that are considered the best in different agro-climatic zones. These trials were conducted at eight locations over three years. DMH-11 rather than being an end in itself signals the proof of success of the barnase-barstar system that can act as a platform technology to develop newer hybrids. Scientists say that having better hybrids is necessary to meet India’s rising edible-oil import bill. Mustard (Brassica juncea) is cultivated in 6-7 million hectares during the Rabi winter season predominantly in Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh. India imports anywhere from 55-60% of its domestic edible-oil requirement. In 2020-21, around 13.3 million tonnes of edible oil were imported at a cost of ₹1,17,000 crore according to the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences. This is primarily due to low productivity — of about 1-1.3 tonnes/hectare — that has been stagnant for over two decades. On the other hand, hybrid mustard and rapeseed are the dominant form of oil seeds in Canada, China and Europe. So, proponents say, the only way to improve India’s productivity is to have more mustard hybrids.
Why is it controversial?
•There are two main reasons why transgenic mustards are a topic of debate. The use of genes that are foreign to the species is one and secondly, the preparation of mustard hybrids require the use of another gene, called the bar gene, that makes it tolerant to a herbicide called glufosinate-ammonium. Activist groups allege that the GM mustard hasn’t been evaluated as a herbicide tolerant crop posing potential risks. Finally, they allege, GM mustard plants may dissuade bees from pollinating the plant and this could have knock-off environmental catastrophes. Activist groups have also been supported by the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, an Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh affiliate, who have consistently opposed GM crops.
What next for GM mustard?
•This isn’t the first time that the GEAC has cleared the environmental release of GM mustard. In 2017 too, the apex body had cleared it but the process got stalled after a case was lodged in the Supreme Court. The government, or specifically the Environment Ministry, hasn’t officially supported GM mustard despite the GEAC being a body under it. Bt Brinjal, the first transgenic food crop, too was cleared by the GEAC in 2009 but was put on hold by the then-UPA government on the grounds that more tests were needed. Currently the only transgenic crop grown in India is Bt-cotton. The GEAC go-ahead only allows DMH-11 to be grown in fields under the supervision of the ICAR. The Indian Agricultural Research Institute has said that the crop would be commercially available after “three seasons” now that they can be grown in large quantities for evaluation.
📰 We want to be India’s defence partner of choice: U.S. official
•“We want to be the partner of choice for India,” a senior U.S. defence official said on Wednesday while stating that America is the best partner when it comes to sharing high-end technology and next-generation equipment while India diversifies its military arsenal ending heavy dependence on Russia. To a question on the situation on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and conversation between India and the U.S., Rear Admiral Michael L. Baker, the U.S. Defence Attaché in India, said the two countries worked closely to exchange views and both could not take the eye off the ball on regional security issues.
•“India has the ability to choose its partners. It has made a conscious decision to diversify over the last decade. And it has made a conscious decision to partner with the U.S. on a host of areas. My focus is on how to take that forward,” he said in a conversation with a small group of journalists. There are some pretty challenges across sharing high-end technology and next-generation equipment, and the U.S. is the best partner in that, he said.
•To a question on the recent submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test by INS Arihant, India’s nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, the Rear Admiral said, “A country is able to go through and test its lawful and sovereign capabilities in a responsible way. From what I can tell, India has done that in a responsible way.”
•On the continuing stand-off in eastern Ladakh and the situation along the LAC, he said it was certainly an important area for them and they remained watchful. “We work closely with India to exchange our views on this area to make sure that we have a clear understanding of what we think may be happening. I think it is a space both for India and the U.S. to remain watchful. We can’t take the eye off the ball of regional security issues.”
•There has been talk of India and the U.S. doing joint patrols in the past which was turned down by the Defence Ministry at that point. India has since carried out joint patrols with France. Asked if the time has come for joint patrols between India and the U.S., he said to one degree, they were conducting joint patrols, referring to the broad naval cooperation.
•India has ships inside the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF). Alongside the U.S., “we operate in the same operational space in the North Arabian Sea, in the Arabian Gulf”, he noted. “As India makes its deployments into the Pacific, it is almost continually operating with the U.S. forces. Whether we make some sort of formal deceleration is kind of a secondary question. Navies of the world are out there on the sea together. We can’t help but be in the space together... We operate together pretty routinely,” he said.
•On the efforts for co-development and co-production of military hardware, he said they had good meetings this year on the next steps of the the Defence Technology Trade Initiative (DTTI). “It is a focus area of our dialogue right now,” he said.
📰 India-U.K. FTA will tighten screws on generic drugs: MSF
•The proposals on intellectual property (IP) rights in the draft India-U.K. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will hurt the global supply of generic medicines, Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières or MSF) warned on Wednesday. In a press note, the international organisation said the intellectual property chapter of the India-U.K. FTA contains “harmful IP provisions”. The IP-related chapter, leaked on October 31, showed the controversial provisions tabled by the U.K. to “tighten the screws on producing, supplying and exporting affordable generic medicines from India”.
•“Given the disastrous consequences this leaked IP chapter could have on the global supply of generic medicines, the U.K. government should withdraw it completely,” Leena Menghaney, South Asia head of MSF’s Access Campaign, said.
•In a “Fact Sheet”, MSF has argued that the demand for “harmonisation” of Indian patent law with the U.K.’s laws will lead to dilution of important provisions in the Indian patent system necessary for manufacturing generics.
•“Article E.10 of the leaked IP chapter stipulates that both parties “shall not” make patent opposition proceedings available BEFORE the grant of a patent. In effect, this provision applies only to India as the U.K. does not have a pre-grant opposition system — this goes directly against the current Indian patent law, which allows patent opposition proceedings both before and after the grant of a patent,” the MSF.
•A U.K. government spokesperson said they would not comment on the “alleged leaks” and will sign “a deal that is fair, reciprocal, and ultimately in the best interests of the British people and the economy.”
Scientists analysed artwork and photographs to assess changes in horn length and human attitudes towards the animal
•The horns of rhinoceroses may have become smaller over time from the impact of hunting, according to a recent study which analysed artwork and photographs of the animal spanning more than five centuries.
•The study, published in the latest edition of People and Nature by the British Ecological Society, relied on a repository of images maintained by the Netherlands-based Rhino Research Center (RRC).
•“We found evidence for declining horn length over time across species, perhaps related to selective pressure of hunting, and indicating a utility for image-based approaches in understanding societal perceptions of large vertebrates and trait evolution,” said the study, authored by scientists from the Universities of Helsinki and Cambridge, as well as the RRC.
Five species face threat
•Rhinos have long been hunted for their horns. The five surviving rhino species are threatened by habitat loss and hunting.
•The study found that the rate of decline in horn length was highest in the critically endangered Sumatran rhino and lowest in the white rhino of Africa, the most commonly found species in the wild and in captivity.
•This observation follows patterns seen in other animals, such as tusk size in elephants and horn length in wild sheep, which have been driven down by directional selection due to trophy hunting, the study said.
•The RRC’s repository holds a collection of more than 4,000 rhino images, including artistic portrayals from 1481 and photographs, of which the earliest was taken in 1862. The scientists used this for two research approaches.
•They studied 3,158 images to assess the changes in representations of rhinos and human interactions with the animal over 500 years. They identified 80 images of all five rhino species, to analyse changes in horn length over time, extracting morphological data from photographs.
📰 Seeds of hope
Scientific consent must dictate product availability to farmers and consumers
•After years of being in limbo, there is a surge of optimism around DMH-11, or Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11, a variety developed using genetic engineering techniques by Indian scientists and public funds. The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), the apex regulator and an arm of the Environment Ministry, last week cleared the variety for environmental release. The seed can be grown in fields for producing more of its kind and is a precursor to it being approved for commercial release. DMH-11 employs genes from soil bacterium that makes mustard, a self-pollinating plant, amenable to being crossed with other varieties and producing hybrid varieties. Hybrid varieties are generally more vigorous and, in the case of mustard, an oil seed, will produce more oil. Despite having varieties of mustard, India continues to be a net oil importer due to poor yields. The food crisis due to the Ukraine war has only exacerbated the problem. Despite decades-long trials, mustard hybrids have not made it to Indian farmers because of activists opposed to genetic modification technology in principle and some farmer groups that believe them to be dangerous.
•While several top scientists and agricultural experts have cheered the GEAC approval, the celebration ought to be muted. In 2017 too, GEAC had cleared the plant and then did a backtrack by introducing additional tests after protests. In 2009, GEAC had cleared Bt Brinjal, a transgenic food crop, only to be over-ruled by the UPA government — again after protests. Agriculture, being a State subject, may merit political scrutiny before a seed can be commercially released; however, in the case of transgenic technology, these decisions have only served to throttle technological progress. The hold, or the so-called ‘moratorium’, on Bt Brinjal persists and it was only in 2020 that GEAC approved fresh field trials, which were in effect repetitions of earlier tests. It is unclear if it will be available in the immediate future. The barnase-barstar system, used in DMH-11, is promising but already outdated given that cutting-edge technology such as CRISPR is in vogue. DMH-11 alone may not be the panacea for India’s edible oil crisis and rather represents a platform technology that requires seed companies to invest and develop their own hybrids. However, the uncertainty around regulatory policy regarding seed development hinders this. To signal transformation, the Government must second the approval by GEAC and restore the system, whereby scientific consent — rather than political considerations — determines the availability of products to farmers and consumers.
📰 A chance to expand the world’s biosphere footprint
•November 3 will be the first ‘The International Day for Biosphere Reserves’, to be celebrated beginning 2022. The World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) was formed in 1971, as a backbone for biodiversity conservation, ecosystem restoration, and living in harmony with nature. There are now 738 properties in 134 countries, including 12 in India, four in Sri Lanka, and three in the Maldives.
•Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal do not have biospheres as yet, but help is on its way: The ‘South and Central Asia MAB Reserve’ Networking Meeting (where MAB stands Man and the Biosphere) is planned for 2023, to advance biosphere reserve establishment, and management. UNESCO is ready to assist in carrying out a professional potentiality analysis. In addition, an expert mission has been planned for spring 2023 — to Bhutan, India’s north-east and the Sundarbans in Bangladesh.
An ideal platform to network
•The WNBR, an amazing network of sites of excellence, is a unique tool for cooperation through sharing knowledge, exchanging experiences, building capacity and promoting best practices. Its members are always ready to support each other. This kind of help extended through the network is of great importance because the ecological carrying capacity of the planet earth has been exceeded. We have to revert to living in harmony with nature — to breathe clean air again, have access to enough good water, eat nutritious and affordable food, and live in dignity.
•Our planet has been set up uniquely in the solar system so that ecosystems can function and provide a home for all living creatures. From whatever vantage point we look at nature conservation — an environmental, cultural or even a religious point of view — it is our responsibility to respect nature.
•The best concept for ‘Living in Harmony with Nature’ that exists in the United Nations system, is the WNBR, making these places more important today than ever before, where humans are thriving and relearning how to live with nature.
Opportunities in South Asia
•In South Asia, over 30 biosphere reserves have been established. The first one was the Hurulu Biosphere Reserve, in Sri Lanka, with 25,500 hectares of tropical dry evergreen forest. In India, the first biosphere reserve was designated by UNESCO in 2000, namely, the blue mountains of the Nilgiris stretching over Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. India’s network of reserves has gone from strength to strength. Considering the massive long-term threats to human survivability (besides pandemics and armed conflicts), such as biodiversity loss, climate change, pollution and population dynamics, accelerated by the blind belief in technological solutions for all problems, we need many more biosphere reserves globally. South Asia offers countless options.
•India is a vast sub-continent, an emerging superpower of unlimited opportunities. It has become an important global player on environmental sustainability issues. India is likely to become the world’s most populated country in 2023.
•Spain, with a landmass of 506,000 km2, and a population of 47.4 million is one of the lead participating WNBR countries globally, with 53 properties. In a comparison with the surface size of Spain to India (ca. 3.3 million km2), and India’s human population of ca. 1.4 billion people, it appears a good idea to carry out a potentiality analysis of biosphere reserves in India, with a focus on the seven sisters in north-east India.
•South Asia has a very diverse set of ecosystems, with Bhutan, India, and Nepal combined having thousands of glaciers, surrounded by lakes and alpine ecosystems.
•As an article by Eric Falt highlights, biosphere reserves have all developed science-based management plans, where local solutions for sustainable human living and nature conservation are being tested, and best practices applied. Issues of concern include biodiversity, clean energy, climate, environmental education, and water and waste management, supported by scientific research and monitoring.
•All biosphere reserves are internationally recognised sites on land, at the coast, or in the oceans. Governments alone decide which areas to nominate.
•Before approval by UNESCO, the sites are externally examined. If approved, they will be managed based on a plan, reinforced by credibility checks while remaining under the sovereignty of their national government.
A perspective
•Some of the countries in South Asia do not yet have any or enough biosphere reserves. In most, if not all cases, the political will is certainly there, but there is a lack of know-how and financial resources. Of course, more financial support from the richer nations and the private sector would be desirable to advance biosphere reserves in these countries. Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal are on our priority list.
•The existence of the new World Network of Mountain Biosphere Reserves provides a welcome opportunity for Bhutan and Nepal to establish their first biosphere reserves and participate in the world network. If these pockets of hope can expand, with at least one biosphere reserve per country in Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal until 2025 (with additional biosphere reserves in India’s North-East and along the coasts) it will give realisation to millions of people that a better future is truly possible — one where we will truly live in harmony with nature.
