Technology acquisition and transfer
from multinational companies to the collaborators in the
region has helped in the introduction and commercialisation of
trangenics in the recent past. This technology is being
licensed to some small companies in the region who possess the
required logistics and human resources. GM crops with stress
tolerance received top priority initially, but work is now
also in progress on some output traits.
However, greater investment is needed
to enable widespread use of these technologies in the region.
Research investment in
agri-biotechnology by the private sector is inadequate
(amounting to only 2 per cent of the total). This needs to be
increased. In addition, the private and public sectors will
have to jointly undertake a massive public awareness programme
to ensure the successful transfer and adoption of such
technologies on a large scale.
