Hybrid seeds, including biotech seeds, represent new business opportunities in India based on yield improvement, according to Usha Barwale Zehr, chief technology officer of Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company.

“Approximately 7,000 plant species are estimated to be used for human consumption, of which just four crops - wheat, maize, rice and potato - provide half of the total world food production and 15 crops contribute two-thirds. Many of these crops are grown in India, which has the potential to become a major producer of biotech rice and vegetables,” she told Business Standard.

New Delhi Global food prices rose by 1.4 per cent in September due to strengthening of cereals,dairy and meat prices, United Nation's body FAO said today.

"Following two months of stability, the FAO Food Price Index rose slightly in September 2012, up 1.4 per cent, or 3 points, from its level in August," FAO said in a statement. FAO's Food Price Index (FFPI) is a monthly measure of change in international prices of 55 commodities.

But they are likely to affect higher-level species such as birds, says ornithologist

The long-term environmental impacts of Genetically Modified Organisms need intensive study, but they are very likely to have impacts on higher-level species such as birds. Dr. P.A. Azeez, director of the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), Coimbatore, made that observation here in reply to a question on the potential impact of GMOs on bird diversity and health. He was speaking on Thursday on the sidelines of the ongoing Meeting of the Parties on the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which covers living modified organisms.

Passionate arguments were heard on Wednesday for and against GM or genetically-modified technology in an event that was held on the sidelines of the CoP MoP 6. Scientists from Europe and Africa presented their studies on the observed health effects of GM foods and the resistance that insects are developing towards GM varieties.

Representatives of the GM industry offered counter-arguments and said the evidence presented in two papers was incorrect. Robin Mesnage, a scientist at the University of Caen in France was part of a study that found tumours developing in rats after they were fed Bt maize with and without a herbicide called Roundup. The paper was published in the prestigious journal, Food and Chemical Technology.

The use of genetically modified crops has not led to any substantial increase in food production, Dr Hans Herren, the president of the Millenium Institute and a World Food Prize laureate said here on Thursday. Speaking at an international scientific conference in the city on ‘Can GM crops meet India’s food security and export markets?,’ Dr Herren said that even in the US, the pioneer in genetic modification of crops and one of its earliest adopters, there was only a marginal increase in the yield of 3-4 per cent, while Europe, which has not adopted the technology has registered better yield increase.