Crop biotechnology could help Vietnam ensure food security, expertshave said at a recent workshop on global outlook for geneticallymodified (GM) crops in Hanoi.
According toNguyen Van Tuat, Deputy Director of Vietnam Academy forAgricultural Sciences, the country has the potential to develop cropbiotechnology.
He said that in the last few years,the country's field trials for GM crops including maize, soybean andcotton had shown promising results. For example, biotech maizeproductivity reflected 30-40 percent higher than in control plots.
With the spending of about 2 billion USD on imported maize and soybeanfor animal feed production, some of it biotech, the country was alreadyconsuming genetically modified products in meat and poultry.
Agriculture expert Vo Tong Xuan said that Vietnam had huge demandfor raw materials to produce animal feed, which required an improvementof crop technologies. GM crops could help reduce imports and raiseincomes for farmers.
However, scientists stillquestioned the impacts of GM crops on human health and the environment,including the development of pests and weeds which may get out ofcontrol, or the loss of valuable characteristics of crops.
Meanwhile, Dr Clive James, founder and chairman of the InternationalServices for the Acquisition on Agriculture Application, said Vietnamhad the potential to plant about 1 million hectares in biotech crops.But if it did not start soon it might lag behind African countries, hesaid.
James emphasised the role of technological applications in agriculture production to eradicate hunger and reduce poverty.
Genetically modified crops first appeared in the world more than twodecades ago and have helped increase productivity, reduce the use ofchemicals or pesticide, ensure food security and cope with climatechange impacts, such as severe drought, flood, and diseases.
There were 28 countries worldwide planting GM crops, led by the USwith 69.5 million hectares, with an average adoption rate of about 90percent across principal biotech crops. Brazil ranked second inarea, with 36.6 million hectares planted.
Over fourconsecutive years, Brazil had shown the largest increase in theworld, a year-over-year increase of 21 percent.
Lastyear, the cultivation area of GM crops worldwide reached 170 millionhectares, 100 times up on that of 1996 when the GM crops were firstplanted for commercial purposes.-VNA
According toNguyen Van Tuat, Deputy Director of Vietnam Academy forAgricultural Sciences, the country has the potential to develop cropbiotechnology.
He said that in the last few years,the country's field trials for GM crops including maize, soybean andcotton had shown promising results. For example, biotech maizeproductivity reflected 30-40 percent higher than in control plots.
With the spending of about 2 billion USD on imported maize and soybeanfor animal feed production, some of it biotech, the country was alreadyconsuming genetically modified products in meat and poultry.
Agriculture expert Vo Tong Xuan said that Vietnam had huge demandfor raw materials to produce animal feed, which required an improvementof crop technologies. GM crops could help reduce imports and raiseincomes for farmers.
However, scientists stillquestioned the impacts of GM crops on human health and the environment,including the development of pests and weeds which may get out ofcontrol, or the loss of valuable characteristics of crops.
Meanwhile, Dr Clive James, founder and chairman of the InternationalServices for the Acquisition on Agriculture Application, said Vietnamhad the potential to plant about 1 million hectares in biotech crops.But if it did not start soon it might lag behind African countries, hesaid.
James emphasised the role of technological applications in agriculture production to eradicate hunger and reduce poverty.
Genetically modified crops first appeared in the world more than twodecades ago and have helped increase productivity, reduce the use ofchemicals or pesticide, ensure food security and cope with climatechange impacts, such as severe drought, flood, and diseases.
There were 28 countries worldwide planting GM crops, led by the USwith 69.5 million hectares, with an average adoption rate of about 90percent across principal biotech crops. Brazil ranked second inarea, with 36.6 million hectares planted.
Over fourconsecutive years, Brazil had shown the largest increase in theworld, a year-over-year increase of 21 percent.
Lastyear, the cultivation area of GM crops worldwide reached 170 millionhectares, 100 times up on that of 1996 when the GM crops were firstplanted for commercial purposes.-VNA
