Bangladesh will grow genetically modified (GM) rice variety known as golden rice by 2012. The rice variety, rich in vitamin ‘A’, will help meet the deficiency of the particular vitamin, lack of which causes childhood blindness and weaken immune system. The Manila-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in an article posted on its web site on Tuesday said the golden rice would grow in Bangladesh and the Philippines by 2012.

Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) Director General Dr Md Firoze Shah Sikder told BSS today that BRRI would began test production of the rice in a confined laboratory by this year. He said the variety was developed by genetically modifying BRRI-29 - a high-yielding variety of rice, being produced in the country for a long with significant success.

“IRRI has done the trial production of the golden rice in many countries, but it got good result in Bangladesh ahead of others,” he said. The BRRI is also in a final stage to build a laboratory with the financial and technical assistance from the IRRI, he said. He, however, said that the launching of the new variety in the field level would take time for ensuring that it would be safe for the local crops and environment.

IRRI in its articles said that among Asian countries, India, China and the Philippines had already adopted the GM technology in producing different crops. India planted GM cotton in around 7.6 million hectares of land this year and the Philippines grew GM maize in 4 lakh hectares of land in 2008. IRRI expects the first GM rice to be grown in Bangladesh and the Philippines in two years would provide about 124 million people in Africa and Asia with sufficient amount of vitamin ‘A’. The IRRI estimates that the deficiency of vitamin ‘A’ causes one million deaths a year and 500,000 cases of blindness.

-The Independent