Biological diversity

Press, 11 September 1986, Page 20

Biological diversity

Sir, — The “gone sour” green revolution that Eric Bennett rubbishes (September 8) has doubled cereal yields in receptive Third World countries, such as India and Turkey, in the last 20 years. (F.A.O. Production Year Books, 1964, 1984). This has reduced pressure on marginal land, and substantially cured their food production problems. True, it has not cured all their social ills. A plant breeder, Nikolai Vavilov, pointed out to biologists 70 years ago the rich diversity of. crop plants in the tropical highlands, now meetly, in Third World countries. Plant breeders have tried hard to use

this diversity and to preserve it for posterity. Does Eric Bennett expect subsistence farmers to starve while they continue to grow poor old cultivars and so preserve them for our possible future use? Plant breeders see this as a dog-in-the-manger attitude — all very well, for us, but not likely to be acceptable to them. — Yours, etc., T. P. PALMER. September 8, 1986.;