ICRISAT symposium to reduce farmers losses due to pests
Hyderabad | Thursday, Nov 19 2009 IST
 

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) will organise a two-day symposium on Biosafety and environmental impact of genetically modified organisms and conventional technologies for pest management from tomorrow at Patancheru. More than 100 eminent scientists from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, and the Department of Biotechnology, will take part in the symposium, a press release here said.

Stressing the need to reduce pest-induced losses, ICRISAT Director-General William D Dar, referring to USD 10 billion annual losses caused by insect pests, which are expected to change in unpredictable ways due to intensification of agriculture and climate change, said, ''the world needs to develop innovative techniques to address the most complex challenge to global food production.'' Dr Dar said crop production was constantly threatened by insect pests, which prevent poor farmers from earning better. As a result of overdependence on insecticides, an 'insecticide treadmill' situation has risen due to the poor choice of insecticides, poor application equipment and pest resistance to insecticides.

Apart from huge economic costs, indirect costs such as the deleterious effects of pesticides on the environment and human health are becoming increasingly severe all over the world, calling for appropriate technologies and guidelines for their judicious application.

According to Dr Dar, the outcome of the symposium will be useful to researchers, research planners and regulatory agencies for developing environment-friendly strategies for pest management.

ICRISAT Principal Entomologist Hari Sharma, also the President of International Congress of Entomology, said, ''ICRISAT has been in the forefront of developing environment-friendly technologies for pest control through the use of insect-resistant varieties derived through conventional methods. It was also involved in evaluating the potential of transgenic crops for pest management and assessing their biosafety to non-target organisms in the environment,''the release added.

-- (UNI) -- 19MS11.xml

 

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