Adopting Golden Rice in Bangladesh

All the developed countries are harvesting the benefits of applied science and technology as much as they can. And developed countries are taking advantages by being the producers, users or consumers as well as sellers of different kinds of scientific technologies and commodities.
Like many other developing countries, Bangladesh is getting the advantages of science and technology at the secondary stage being only the users or consumers of the same. There are multiple reasons that can be mentioned behind these drawbacks including weak R&D strategy, limited investment/budget in R&D, complex procurement system and brain drain. Besides, limited or inadequate focusing on different aspects of science and technology in mass media is also another important reason. Science and technology news randomly comes to and from these media. However, these are very scanty with respect to need.  
Communication science is very important for getting the benefits of science and to spread the same for the interest of the people, but in most cases our scientists are not apposite to communicate their findings in a proper way and in appropriate time. Bangladeshi scientists have high potentials for developing scientific knowledge and they do so as well. But, they are not skilled enough in communication. As a result, some are lost in the wave of time and some find their ways in foreign countries to materialise their ideas and work for the benefit of foreign countries.
Bangladesh is one of the few countries that approved contained and confined field trials of Golden Rice (GR), but approval for commercial production of the crop has not been made by the regulatory authority. However, the approval of bt. eggplant for commercial production certainly offers promise for the approval of GR for commercial production in the near future.
Nowadays genetic engineering or GM crop is a reality; we cannot avoid it. But unfortunately, there are some people who never want to accept scientific innovation at the right time due to lack of knowledge.  It is evident here that communicating facts of science about this new technology (GM crops) is not so easy in Bangladesh. There are lots of risk factors or potential threats against the adoption of GM Rice which we have to know to tackle in a proper way. Some of the factors that are affecting the development and promotion of GR in Bangladesh are: Anti GM activism of certain environmentalist groups and NGOs, some regulatory bodies, a group of scientists who possess limited knowledge on bio-fortifications, a section of academicians, syndicated media and finally sellers, farmers and consumers.
NGOs may have more influence on farmers and consumers. Many large NGOs are likely to support GR if it is safe and effective. Influential NGOs in Bangladesh including Grameen Bank, Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), and Proshika are unlikely to take a major lead in promoting Gold Rice or GM Rice, but they probably would not oppose it and may rather offer some support to disseminate it among farmers if there is strong evidence that this newly developed crop variety would help the poor. However, there are many other NGOs that advocate organic farming. Their objections are related to ethical or ideological issues, not scientific skepticism.
There are several other risks. Firstly, after substantial investment, GM Rice may not be widely adopted and might have little impact on crop yield. Farmers who wish to sell it in markets may not want to take the risks of adopting a new variety due to confusion about yield, susceptibility to pests and diseases unless they are promised to be compensated adequately. It is also important to undertake awareness campaigns to inform skeptical farmers, consumers, or NGOs about the nutritional and other benefits of Golden Rice.
Generally, it is believed that most new agricultural technologies hurt farmers in the developing countries. To some extent, the legacy of the Green Revolution is still viewed with skepticism by many even though it has increased productivity, has been adopted widely by farmers, and is still a major force in averting famine like situation.  
Many assume that farmers will need to purchase the seed of GR every year. While this is true for many GM crops in developed economies, at present no company has plans to commercialise GR in developing countries. In addition, the technology to create GR was donated by its inventors and private companies are holding intellectual property licenses so that any organisation or farmers can freely distribute seed. Thus, farmers will be under no compulsion to buy new seeds every year, but this fact needs to be clearly and creatively communicated to the people.
Poor people depend mostly on rice for majority of their mineral and vitamin requirements in Bangladesh. Other non rice vitamin-A sources are either seasonal (fruits) or expensive (meet, egg, etc) for the poor.
Golden Rice will be approved by regulators if it is found safe for human health and environment. The results of the studies so far conducted showed that GR is as efficient as retinol provided as capsule in immunisation programme for children. GR is an open pollinated crop; therefore farmer can store these seeds year after year without almost any cost for preservation. Green Revaluation brought prosperity to the poor farmers worldwide, particularly in Bangladesh. Rice yield reached to three fold higher than it was at the time of independence. GR technology might create another revolution.  
In consideration of the risk factors and negative reactions, an extensive strategy is needed to undertake to address all the issues related to the development and adoption of GR in Bangladesh. Priority should be given to the development of GR varieties in Bangladesh. Food safety and efficacy of GR need to be critically reviewed before commercialisation. Capacity building of National Agricultural Research System (NARS) for developing communication skills is highly emphasised for better motivation of farmers, consumers, NGOs and people from all strata in society for sustainable adoption of GR.

Md. Abdul Momin, Senior Liaison Officer, Bangladesh Rice Research
Institute (BRRI)