China approves 81 GM seeds to boost maize & soybean as Indian biotech is blocked & crop yields languish
New Delhi: China’s moves since October 2023 to approve several genetically modified (GM) strains of maize and soybean have shined a spotlight on India’s own GM journey and how lengthy legal tangles and government moratoriums have condemned Indian agriculture to low yields and output levels.
After decades of shared hesitation with India over GM crops, China has broken away and joined the likes of the US, Canada, and several South American and African nations in embracing GM technology to boost crop yields.
China’s break from its past hesitation has come not only in the form of extensive research and development of GM seed varieties, and a strengthening of its regulations, but also as more direct action in the form of espionage and theft from the US of its proprietary GM intellectual property.
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