Whither the seeds of change?

Why India still remains in a state of confusion when it comes to genetically modified crops

- SANJEEB MUKHERJEE

A lesser-known chapter in the life of MS Swaminathan, the chief architect of India's Green Revolution, is his role in nudging the Vatican towards supporting genetically modified (GM) crops as a tool to fight global hunger.

As narrated in a recent biography by his niece Priyambada Jayakumar (MS Swaminathan: The Man Who Fed India), Swaminathan, while serving with the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), met Pope John Paul II privately in 1982. The pontiff, deeply troubled by drought-induced hunger in Africa, backed FAO's efforts to tackle the crisis.

His successor, Pope Benedict XVI, invited Swaminathan to the Vatican to help develop a strategy for the use and deployment of GM crops, though in a balanced, meaningful manner — bearing in mind the importance and impartiality of scientific data. The Pontifical Academy of Sciences later declared that GM crops were "no more dangerous than evolution," marking rare institutional support from the church for what was seen as a contentious technology.

Back in India, however, GM crops remain mired in political hesitation, regulatory deadlock, and activist opposition.

Swaminathan himself, despite championing modern agricultural technologies, stirred controversy in 2018 when he co-authored a paper describing GM crops as a failure. After sharp push-back from scientists, including then principal scientific adviser K VijayRaghavan, Swaminathan clarified that he continued to support genetic modification and gene editing.

GM and US tariffs The US administration's move to impose 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods in response to India's refusal to open its farm sector to American soybeans, corn, and dairy products has once again turned the spotlight on India's GM crop policies and research.

The last and so far only GM crop cleared for full-scale commercial cultivation in India is cotton, approved in 2002.