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 During my lifetime, seed technology has been the catalyst that
has averted mass starvation on planet Earth. At today’s 6.4
billion, the world’s population is four times the 1.6 billion
people who lived when I was born in 1914. How many more can the
earth feed without destroying the forests and wildlife habitat?
The answer hinges on the extent of a continuing stream of
ever-more-powerful seeds, based on focused research, until
population stabilizes.
Of course, we all know that to stay ahead of the “population
monster” requires more than seeds alone. It requires essential
policy changes at the highest levels of governments plus
improved production technologies: mineral was well as organic
fertilizers, better tillage practices, more-efficient
irrigation, and weed control. But, without the catalyst—the
power of seeds—better policies and production technologies will
not be enough.
Let me describe a few examples of positive results from focused
research.
I first started serious work on seed technology in
1944 as a Rockefeller Foundation scientist with the cooperative
Government of Mexico-Rockefeller Foundation agricultural
research program. Even with imported foodgrains at the time,
many Mexicans were hungry. Based on the wheat and maize (corn)
varieties that we developed, and while population continued a
brisk increase, Mexico became self-sufficient in foodgrains by
the mid-1950s.
In the mid-1960s, India and Pakistan were experiencing hunger,
and two provinces in northeast India suffered famine, even while
millions of tons annually of food aid, mostly wheat, were
imported. Malthusian thought was re-awakening. Two widely read
books at the time contended, in effect, “Let’s write off India,
it’s hopeless; let’s only provide our food aid to countries that
have a chance.” With the power of the high-yielding seeds and
production technologies that we introduced, together with
improved policies, Pakistan in 1968 and India in 1974 became
self-sufficient in foodgrains and they have essentially remained
so.
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Though few people outside the country knew it, China during the
Cultural Revolution experienced widespread hunger and famine.
Many millions starved. At the time of my first trip to China, in
1974, universities were closed, food was rationed, things were
miserable. On my more than 12 trips, I witnessed remarkable
progress. Although population has increased by nearly 50
percent, to 1.3 billion, most Chinese today are well fed and
enjoy a much higher standard of living, thanks to the power of
seeds as the catalyst. In the early 1970s, China acquired from
Pakistan some of our “Mexican” short-strawed, high-yielding
wheat seeds. China also benefited from improved varieties of
rice provided by the International Rice Research Institute in
the Philippines. But China’s overall success resulted from sound
national research that provided a continuous stream of better
seeds and production technologies, accompanied by a set of
policies that support increased production.
The positive experiences in Mexico, India, Pakistan and China
result, largely, from the catalytic power of three seeds: wheat,
rice and maize. Many other countries of Asia, the Middle East
and Latin America also benefited from these improved seeds. But,
what about Africa?
Sub-Saharan Africa is my greatest worry. In most of the area,
maize is more important than either wheat or rice.
High-yielding, disease-resistant quality protein maize (QPM),
based on research, is an important development for many African
families who have little milk, eggs or meat because of animal
diseases and poverty. The protein quality of QPM is close to
that of skim milk, resulting in improved health.
What is required for sub-Saharan Africa, in addition to better
seeds of wheat, rice and maize, I believe, is focused research
to enhance yields and quality of some of the “orphan crops” that
are important in the diets of Africans: cassava, sweet potatoes,
sorghum and millet, lentils and cowpeas, among others.
More generally, for planet Earth’s growing population, both
conventional and biotechnology research on food crops and
livestock, both private- and public-sector funded, is absolutely
essential to provide ever-more-powerful seeds as well as a
continuing stream of improved technology to energize the
catalytic power of seeds. |
