Half-Day Workshop on The Role of Biotechnology in Agriculture
October 27, 2003, New Delhi

Remark by Walter North, Acting Charge d' Affaires and Director, United States Agency

Good morning.

I would like to begin with an appreciation to FICCI for organizing this event, to the speakers for contributing their expertise, and to participant, for acknowledging the importance of the topic at hand.

Now, like some of you and unlike others, I am not a scientist. Rather, I represent a diplomatic mission, the American Embassy, including its development agency whose mission is to encourage collaborative Indian and U.S. undertakings that benefit the needy in society. Still, I believe I can share the interest and excitement that has brought you here. Clearly, we have all taken the time and trouble to be here because we sense the potential inherent in this workshop's topic.

The US-India relationship has undergone an important transformation over the past several years, and the increased commitment of and collaboration between both our countries to researching new applications in biotechnology is an important element of this change. Scientists are working directly with each other on this important issue, and our governments are exploring ways to improve cooperation as well.

Perhaps India and U.S. share a particular interest in the role of biotechnology in agriculture because of the large natural sweep of our countries with their varied soils and agricultural environments, the economic and social importance of agriculture, as well as the diversity of our populations and their nutritional requirements. Our cultures also share an interest in science and in making it contribute to better lives for regular people.

During the past two decades many, including some here today, have contributed to the new, growing body of knowledge and practices referred to as "biotechnology". Meanwhile, many in my field of economic development have been consumed with the question of what constituted "appropriate technology". This stemmed, of course, from recognizing the importance of technological choice in addressing social and economic needs and shaping human behavior and human society. It's a very important discussion. 

Likewise, with the advent of biotechnology, each society is now struggling with how it can best and most safely be applied to benefit the lives of its citizens. The world is still looking for a body of "best practice" in this regard and will probably continue to do so as the practice and potential of biotechnology continue evolving.

I would submit, however, that many of our clients, the needier people of the world, live in its more marginal environments characterized by drought, flood, problem soils, extremes in heat, cold, altitude -- and also pollution and other forms of environmental degradation.

These people suffer more than others from nutritional deficiencies of all sorts - they are short of calories, amino acids and micro-nutrients. This being the case, they have a particular interest in the potential and the performance of biotechnology applications in agriculture.

Biotechnology has the potential to address many of these issues. For example, just recently e research team at Purdue University in the United States uncovered the genetic mechanism that prevents certain crop plants from growing tall ---- a finding that could improve food production in certain region of the world. Increased yields of dwarf varieties of wheat, introduced throughout India, Pakistan, and Southeast Asia during the 1960s, prevented massive food shortages in those regions. Today, this development at Purdue University could expand the benefits to other cereal crops, including basmati rice.

The potential is there. The question before us, of course, is to what degree agricultural biotechnology will prove to be "appropriate technology" - for economic growth, for reducing stress on the earth's resources; and for its capacity to improve the productivity, health and welfare of the world's most marginalized and vulnerable people. 

Biotechnology is one of the most promising new technologies of our times, with the potential to enhance productivity while preserving the environment. Ensuring that countries' systems and procedures for regulating biotechnology are timely, transparent, based on science, and widely understood and accepted, are the challenges to realizing this promise.

I am glad to know that these issues are being discussed today. I wish the workshop great success.

Thank you.