Experts underline need for adopting GM crops

Expressing concern over difficulties in meeting the rising demand for food, the experts, who attended a seminar on `genetically modified crops and food security' at Khalsa College stressed on the need to adopt GM crops. The seminar, dedicated to National Science Day, was held in collaboration with Punjab State Council of Science and Technology.

According to the experts, the food requirements cannot be met with the given agriculture outputs. Hence, GM crops have to be adopted for which an awareness campaign was needed to overcome misconceptions related to these new crops.

Avinash Nagpal of botanical sciences department, GNDU, said that GM crops and their role in ensuring food security had been a major issue of the decade. He said that adoption of these crops would end poverty and ensure sustainable development.

Nagpal maintained that this had been the issue of debate and had social-economic ramifications.

A quiz competition was held on this occasion. Prabhleen Kaur, Mannat Kaur and Namita Thakur, of chemistry department, stood first while Akashdeep, Navdeep and Joyti Devi were second and Rashmin, Sagar Malhotra and Mohammad Adil, of bio-technology department, were third in the competition.

College principal Daljit Singh said that the seminar aimed at creating awareness about the subject. Others present on the occasion included registrar Devender Singh, head of chemistry department MS Batra, JS Gandhi, Jasjit Kaur Randhawa, HB Singh, Mohammad Arshad, Taminder Singh Bhatia, Mukesh Chander and Amandeep Singh. HT