Agricultural scientists, development activists and civic leaders have warned that unrestrained introduction of genetic engineering technology in farming in the name of increasing output would ultimately deprive farmers of their right to seeds and lead to ecological disasters.

Before selecting or rejecting the genetically modified rice and other crops in the country, both positive and negative sides of the technology should be studied cautiously and made public as there are wide confusions and fears among the masses about GM foods, they said at a dialogue in the city on Friday. Bangladesh Paribesh Andolan, Shikkha Swasthya Karjakram and Pesticide Action Network and Asia Pacific organised the dialogue, chaired by Professor Muzaffer Ahmad.

‘Firstly, we have to assess what we achieved and lost over the years from our endeavours to increase agricultural productions. No technology should be absorbed only for increasing output at the cost of farmers’ sovereignty,’ Muzaffer said. He said multinational companies have been trying to control the global seed market. Thus, the farmers will be left at the whims of MNCs and they will lose their rights to seed, he warned.

US food security expert Michael K Hansen in his keynote paper said some important issues including consequences of genetically engineered foods on biodiversity and public health still remained unanswered. Nijera Kori coordinator Khushi Kabir, and agriculture scientists Abdul Malek, M Abdul Momin and Tushar Rahman also spoke on the occasion, warning that introduction of genetic engineering technology in rice cultivation will fully damage the agro-ecology by increasing soil toxicity.

-New age