The Consortium of Indian Farmers Associations (CIFA) in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed regret at the response of the Ministry of Environment and Forests to the approval of Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) granted for Genetically Modified (GM) Mustard.
CIFA chief adviser P. Chengal Reddy said GM Mustard was developed by Indian scientist Deepak Pental with the support of the Government of India.
Minister of State for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Anil Madhav Dave announced that the approval of GM Mustard would be kept in abeyance till the Supreme Court decided on the matter.
“Your government has been scouting around the world for technology and investments in Defence, atomic energy, space, IT and infrastructure, but when it came to Agriculture no such efforts are visible,” he said.
Instead of encouraging the development of GM products, the policy of the government was to import GM produce, he said.
