Bioterrorism

Ammara Ramzan, Ijaz Ashraf

Institute of Agri. Extension & Rural Development, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 

When we think about terrorism, immediately things which come in our minds are bomb blasting, firing and attack of human terrorist. Here I used the word “human terrorist” because there is another type of terrorism in which attackers are biological agents released by humans in order to cause disease or death in humans, animals or in plants. This type of terrorism is called Bioterrorism.  Bioterrorism is the intentional release of biological agents such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, insects or pest. Different diseases develop in organisms result in the death of number of organism. The major reason of bioterrorism is to harm the country by affecting its economy.

There are two possibilities, one is that biological agents are already present in nature; some changes are made in them to increase their capability to cause disease, increase their ability to reproduce, or to make them resistant to medicines which are used to cure diseases caused by them or to kill agents. The second possibility is that they can spread through water, air or through food. Effective spread of biological agent/disease is through airports because people of different nations can carry these biological agents with them and take to their countries.  Bioterrorism can be more dangerous because biological agents sometimes cannot be detected easily and they do not show symptoms of that particular disease for several hours to several days but agents are making roots. Some biological agents can spread from person to person.

 Bioterrorism agents are divided into three categories A, B, C, on the basis of their capability to spread, severity of disease they cause or the death by them. Category A includes those agents which are most dangerous to public health and country economy. These also result in high death rate, are easily spreadable and a country require proper actions to fight with them. Category B includes the agents which do not cause severe disease and have low death rate. Category C includes the agents on which work is being done or engineered for mass spread in future. They produce high mortality rate and have major health impact.  

Government should take steps to prepare people for bioterrorism, and in case of attack, should fight with diseases wisely to prevent maximum loss to living organisms (humans, plants or animals) and to economy. In case of disease attack on plants or on any specific crop prevention measures should be taken to eradicate the disease.

Genetically Modified Organisms are hazardous for Human health

Junaid Hassan, Rao Bilal, Ahsan Maroof

Faculty of Agriculture, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad

There has been a debate raging about geneticaly modified organisms (GMOs) for a long time now. On one side of the debate is the idea that genetic engineering is progress for humanity, and it is a natural extension of more traditional breeding techniques. The other side believes genetically modified foods are unsafe for human consumption and harmful to the environment. 

Biotech companies claim that genetic modification yields more precise control over artificial selection. Studies funded by the industry consistently demonstrate safety, but only over the short term. For years Monsanto, Dow, Syngenta, and other biotech based agricultural companies have told the public that we have nothing to worry about. This will be the technology that will improve food in every conceivable way. Food will be more nutritious, more vigorous, more disease resistant, etc. There are literally thousands of studies demonstrating GMO safety. A pattern has emerged, however. Their glowing, short-term studies are funded or performed by the industry.

As more and more independent scientists complete long-term studies, a very different picture has emerged about the safety of GMOs and their many other drawbacks. When these studies are not funded by industry, the results show us an uncontrollable, uncontainable, and dangerous technology with serious health hazards.Scientists all over the world have suspension about genetically modified thing.

Scientists such as Prof. Ruth Hubbard, Geneticist, Harvard University, USA and 814 other scientists have written an open letter to governments and international forums. These prominent scientists are extremely concerned about the hazards that GMOs pose to biodiversity and food safety. They are "extremely concerned" about the risks GMOs pose to human health and animal health. Experts all over the world are saying it's time to change the way we do agriculture.

These and hundreds of other scientists worldwide are calling for a ban on patents on life. Patents on life forms threaten food security and health around the world. Patents, they argue, have the effect of legally sanctioning biopiracy of indigenous knowledge and genetic resources. Lifeforms such as organisms, seeds, cell-lines, and genes are discoveries. These discoveries should not belong to corporations but rather they should belong to all of us. These discoveries should not be the kind of discoveries that a person or a corporation should be able to patent.

GM pollen from GM crops can travel miles. It is commonplace for birds, insects, and weather to carry GM pollen and seeds. Animals and natural processes can spread patented genes onto other farms. When this happens, hapless farmers are sued, and contrary to all common sense.

GM crops cross-pollinate with other crops so voraciously that we can't seem to get rid of some unapproved GM varieties. Genetically modified wheat keeps popping up in farmers' fields across the country though it was ordered to be completely destroyed 14 years ago, way back in 2001.

Patents are meant to protect property rights, but the patents on genetically modified foods have been used to take farmers lands away from their rightful owners and to control farmers. Instead of protecting the freedom to own property, these patents are eroding the rights of property owners.

The current techniques that are used to genetically modify foods are unreliable, uncontrollable, and unpredictable. Hundreds, sometimes thousands, of unwanted mutations result from genetic engineering. These can result in new allergens or toxins, and even new viruses. This makes sense when you consider that GMO foods are made to either be immune to poison or to create their own poisons, or both. Traditional breeding techniques are simply more controllable and predictable.

These are just some of the reasons that GMO foods should not qualify as inventions

GM crops are neither necessary nor beneficial to agriculture. There have been many failures of genetically modified crops. Now that independent research is being done on GM crops, the picture of a failed technology emerges from the research. Genetically modified crops have produced inferior yields when compared to their unmodified counterparts.GM crops have been shown to have poor disease resistance. 

GM crops engineered to contain BT toxins kill beneficial insects such as bees, lacewings, swallowtails, and monarch butterflies. (Monsanto claims they are concerned about this, but so far greenwashing has been their only response).

·         

•           Glufosinate causes birth defects in mammals.
• ·         Fruit abortion (a failure of fruit production).
• ·                   Glyphosate has been linked to cancer.
• ·                 Poor financial returns for farmers.
• ·              GMOs violate farmers rights.

When genetically modifying our food, the biotech industry would have the public believe that they are improving upon life, and doing it sustainably. We are told that the benefits outweigh any risks, or even less believable, that genetic engineering is a risk-free technology.

When put into practice, the benefits accrue to Big Agriculture while the costs are paid for by the consumer and society in the form of higher prices, toxic food, and environmental degradation.

The cost of genetically modifying food is also paid by farmers. They face the threat of GMO contamination, pesticide runoff, soil degradation, and higher seed prices. The same crops that become genetically modified become more expensive, in all of their varieties GM and Non GM. In a successful attempt to manipulate the market, biotech corporations have been buying seed companies for some time. This enables biotech companies to make non-genetically modified seeds more expensive, and harder to obtain after they genetically modify a particular crop such as corn.

 The Importance of GMO cannot be ignorable for the human safety and food production. Companies using the GMO for the products manufacturing should be responsible for human health issues. The use of GMO should be minimum according the security issues.

Use of ICTs for Agriculture and Rural Development

Umair Talib, Ijaz Ashraf, Aqeela Saghir, Gulfam Hassan

Institute of Agri. Extension & Rural Development, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad

Survey to assess the ICTs use in Agriculture and Rural Development

According PTA known as  Pakistan Telecommunication Authority Pakistan is ranked 5^th in mobile use in Asia as more than 123 million people use cellular phones in the country. ICTs application in agriculture started after 2000. World Bank declares Pakistan 1^st in telecommunication facilities in south Asia. 

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are an important part of modern technology performing 
multifarious duties in different fields such as education, agriculture, health and entertainment. These are the physical infrastructure developed for facilitating the performance of teaching and learning process. ICTs have the potential to provide an opportunity to the masses for effective communication which was not possible through traditional media. For the ICTs incorporation into the system, there are many factors which are responsible for the success and failure of this process including timing, feasibility of information, comprehensiveness and quality competency of teachers, methods of teaching, funding and the most important-the provision of technology. The use of ICTs in developing countries is gaining importance but still in Pakistan, ICT literacy is not up to the mark and it is the most neglected area which needs to be addressed. Pakistan is facing many problems in effective use of ICTs especially in the field of agricultural extension.

Extension is an instrumental tool for upbringing of crops and animals through modern production, protection and management practices using multiple channels of communication. Organizations and personnel’s engaged in agricultural extension undertake range of diversified socially acceptable and technically valid activities with the purpose to widen and improve the abilities of farmers and professionals. 

Modern extension services can only produce enough quality and quantity of food. In Pakistan farmers are facing numerous problems relating to health of crops and animals specially. The coverage of agricultural advisory services is limited in Pakistan due to lack of professionals in the field. The mobile phones can be used as catalyst to enhance connectivity of extension field staff (EFS) with farmers for two way flow of information. The mobile app can ease out all the processes from production to marketing in the EFS.

In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, in the field of agriculture and rural development there was an increasing trend of software application for keeping record of crops and animal disease and treatment history.  Since then, it is continued at increasing rate and is now applied in all lanes of agriculture and rural development practices. Still there is a huge gap between potential and actual meat, poultry, dairy, milk and cereal crops productivity. Main constraint in improvement of agricultural production is unawareness of farmers about new breeds and varieties. Yield can be increased through bridging the serious gaps that exist in transfer of technology system. This gap can be overcome by an effective extension system. 

         In Pakistan, agricultural advisory services are using multiple communication channels for transferring of improved practices to the end users. The limitations of extension system in the country like other developing countries are: low funds allocation, limited technical and locomotive capacities of extension staff, large area and number of farm families, poor access to marginal and small farmers and low literacy rate of farming community. The most appropriate and feasible solution in 21^st century is E-Extension. The most approachable E-instrument is mobile phone in farming community.

        

     Ø  Mobile phones can bridge existing information asymmetry and complement the existing information sources such as radio, television and newspapers.

    Ø  Mobile phones have the potential to significantly reduce communication and information search costs.

        Ø  Phone calls and SMS can also replace the need for face-to-face interaction thereby reducing travel costs.

     Ø  Extension field staff uses mobile phones for exchanging agricultural information through different stages of agricultural value chain.

        Ø  Mobile phone is significantly used in exchanging market information.

       Ø Finally, mobile phone can reduce the awareness gap among farmers, augmenting the capabilities of extension field staff and strengthen the research-extension-farmer liaisons.

Therefore in recent years demand for information delivery via mobile has increased. So far, all the mobile operating companies are providing agricultural information through SMS or Robocall to their registered customers. Followings are the mobile phone services available to farmers:

• Kisan Mobilink services                700
• Tele kisan                                      1350, 700
• U kisan                                          700
• Zong Kisan Portal                         700
• Warid Kisan Line                          2244       

               

Farming community considers these services as less reliable and thereby do not attract much attention of the farmers. Therefore, various public institutions have developed their helplines, which are follows:

• Agi. Punjab                                   0800-15000, 0800-29000
• Liv. and Dairy Development         0800-78686, 0800-78685
• PARC                                           0800-84420
• FAP                                              0472-35710862
• Dairy Care Pak                            0300-4130636

In many countries Mobile-based advisory services are being used to deliver information to farming communities relating to all aspects of agriculture. The scope of mobile phone usage is extremely useful in countries having more number of small farmers with diversified information needs. This tool can transmit information to the farmers within limited time and resources. In the rural areas mobile phones are very effective and interactive in making connectivity with experts.