Despite a current ban on genetically modified crops in agriculture in Switzerland, taxpayer money is being used to develop transgenic crops in India. . . .
The humble chickpea – or chana as it is commonly known in India – is a tasty legume that is rich in protein. It is used in a wide range of curries. . . But . . . Almost a fifth of the crop is destroyed by a caterpillar called the pod borer.
. . . . However, the solutions proposed might not be to everyone’s taste and seem hypocritical in the face of Switzerland’s own domestic ban on the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in agriculture.
According to the Swiss and Indian government-funded Indo-Swiss Collaboration in Biotechnology (ISCB) programme, the answer to the chickpea pest problem is creating transgenic plants. . . .
. . . .
The transgenic pod borer resistant chickpea is only one of several genetic engineering projects with Swiss financial support. Other such projects include creating drought resistant chickpeas, transgenic chickpeas with genes from garlic to repel sucking insects, and elite transgenic cassava plants that are immune to a certain virus.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: Swiss aid money used for GMO research in India
