There is a shortage of food across the world and experts are trying to come up with ways in which the shortfall in supplies can be made up. Amid this, India itself confronts another dimension to food security: entry of alien pests and diseases that could affect food production.

The danger is so great that experts have already suggested to the Centre that an effective mechanism should be put in place regarding pests on the lines of the bio-terrorism law in the US. An inter-ministerial body on bio-security, they advise, should be formed with representatives from the Union ministries of agriculture, defence, health, environment and forests and commerce.

Their concern is not unfounded. The National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) has identified a number of exotic pests and diseases which have entered the country. According to reports, NBPGR has found incidence of pests not known to occur in India. These include Peronospora manshuria on soyabeans from US, tomato black ring virus on French beans from Columbia, Anthonomus grandis on cotton from the US.

The NBPGR findings have sounded a note of caution to the Government about the need for developing an appropriate mechanism to prevent the entry of dangerous pests and diseases in the interest of food security. “We have been suggesting to the Government that it should take stringent measures to prevent the entry of exotic pests or diseases that may endanger our food security,” said a senior scientist at the NBPGR plant quarantine division.

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