The debate on the pros and cons of genetically engineered/modified crops is universal. In India, in the face of vociferous protests, the controversy has only deepened leading to a moratorium on cultivation of Bt Brinjal crop — the first GM food crop sought to be commercialised. Gargi Parsai spoke to Basudeb Acharia, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture, on its new report, “Cultivation of Genetically Modified Food Crops — Prospects and Effects.”
The government asserts that GM crops are essential for food security of India’s growing population. What is your take?
GM is not the panacea. We have 2,200 varieties of Brinjal. If we allow GM Brinjal, all our varieties will get contaminated and vanish as has happened in cotton. When the committee members visited Yavatmal in Vidarbha, we asked farmers why they were growing Bt cotton if the input costs were high and profits were low. They said they had no other option as alternate seeds were no longer available.
Initially a 450 gm packet of Monsanto’s Bt cotton seeds was sold at Rs 1,700. Then after the Andhra Pradesh government challenged this in court, it was brought down to Rs.750 per packet but the royalty of Rs.250 per packet is paid to Monsanto that developed the seed. Last year, a packet was sold between Rs.1,200 to Rs.2,000 because of the monopoly of this private seed company. An artificial scarcity was created and the price was hiked. This will happen in Bt brinjal too if it is allowed.
If our quest is for food security then why must we select this technology which has nothing to do with food security? The only motive behind this is profit for the seed companies.
What are the major recommendations of your committee?
We have said that the government must not allow field trials of GM crops till there is a strong, revamped, multi-disciplinary regulatory system in place. We studied the regulatory system in different countries and found that the one in Norway was the best.
We have recommended a thorough probe into the permission given to commercialisation of Bt Brinjal right from the beginning till a moratorium was imposed in 2010. Also that there should be examination of research reports and assessment by independent scientists of Bt Brinjal by an agency other than the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), which gave approval on its own assessment, to avoid conflict of interest.
The panel recommended re-evaluation of all research findings in Bt cotton seeds in the light of studies that highlighted inexplicable changes in the organs and tissues of Bt-cotton seed-fed lambs.
Having noticed several shortcomings in the functioning, composition, powers and mandate of GEAC and the Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM) in their regulatory role, we have recommended to our sister committees on Science and Technology and Environment and Forests to do a comprehensive examination and report to Parliament.
There should be mandatory labelling of products from GM crops, unchecked import of GM products should be stopped and we have suggested that alternate organic farming should be encouraged, for which, as of now, there is no government support. An explanation has been sought from the Department of Consumer Affairs as to why no examination was done of the lakhs of tonnes of Bt cotton seed oil extracted from Bt cotton that has entered the food chain.
What are the chief concerns?
GM technology cannot be the monopoly of one company, as in Bt cotton. The benefits that were assured from Bt cotton cultivation are not coming because new pests have appeared. Farmers have to use more pesticide and chemical fertilizers, as a result of which there has been an increase in input costs and reduction in profit margins leading to farmer’s indebtedness and suicides.
Does it worry you that GM foods can enter the country without checks? Only if the exporter or the importer makes a declaration will authorities know that GM products are entering the country.
That is the weakness in law. There is only a Food Lab in Kolkata under the Ministry of Health and which is not well-equipped. The new Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is supposed to do it. The government must enact a legislation to protect the rights of consumers. Today, consumers have no rights and no means to know which imported food contains GM. There should be compulsory testing and labelling of GM food entering the country.
Now that the report is out, what do you expect the government to do?
The moratorium on Bt Brinjal should continue. All field trials of GM crops should discontinue. They should only be done in confined area in labs, the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill should be reviewed so that there is no conflict of interest as the promotion of biotech and regulation cannot be under one body. You cannot compare with the United States as in India, 80 to 82 per farmers are small and marginal.
Why do you think the government is allowing this?
Because of pressure from the United States. Because since 1991, the government is pursuing neo-liberal economic policies — all are inter-related. You will find the difference in the agrarian crisis in the pre-1991 and post-1991 period. Suicides of farmers started from 1996-97. Before that there were isolated incidents. Just as it is now — there is pressure from the U.S. on India to allow 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail trade so that Walmart can come.
The industry-based Association of Biotech-led Enterprises-Agriculture Group (ABLE-AG) has said implementation of your panel’s recommendations will hit farm growth.
I do not agree. We were producing 52 million tonnes in 1950-51 and are today producing 257 million tonnes without using GM technology. If we have increased to such an extent, where is the need for GM technology? From a food importing country we are now exporting, though it is also a fact that a large number of population is not fed, whereas godowns are full.
We are not against new technology in the farm sector but it should be in the interest of farmers without undermining the rights of consumers. As of now it is more inclined towards industry without the accompanying safeguards, regulation and monitoring on pricing, monopoly, seed sovereignty and biodiversity.
How was unanimity achieved on this sensitive subject among the 31 committee members representing different political parties and ideologies?
We wanted to make an objective report. We invited those in favour of GM crops including Monsanto and those who were not. We visited five States including Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. We examined 18,000 documents 1,000 memoranda and 56 witnesses. The panel members met 100 farmers’ widows and heard from lakhs of farmers their plight in each State. The arguments of those against were stronger. That is why the entire committee is unanimous. There was not a single amendment or dissent.
Keywords: GM crops, food security, Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, GEAC,
ban GM completely,notwithstanding the lies being propagated by Monsanto, its allies and employees, the arm-twisting by US (who wants to enslave India through control over our food) and the behind the scene manipulations by power-crazy Bill Gates
Our governments whether UPA or NDA are not able to give fertilisers or pesticides in time and also in unadulterated form to farmers of this country. Now if seeds also are to be given by one single company like Monsanto, one or two of our Minister's friends or relatives will acquire shares (quid pro quo) of that company so that highest money can be made out for generations. This is yet another attempt of USA to dominate Indian agriculture just like British did to Chinese who were made to addict to opium and lose their natural talent. Of course, Chinese have recovered now and become the world leaders in manufacturing, that is another story.
For Basudeb Acharia, scientific facts and ground realities be damned,
as his report is entirely based on his anti-American, anti-MNC and
anti-technology Marxian philosophy. Indian communists cannot simply
stand the success of Western science. If a technology replaces labor,
then they are against that science and technology. from the days of
industrial revolution, communists have been opposing technology for
the fear of laborers loosing their jobs and livelihood. I am yet to
meet a communist or a socialists in India (I have met hundreds of
them) who cares to understand basic elements of science. I have
personally handed a dozen authentic internationally recognized
documents on GM crops to Basudeb Acharia, and he seems to have
completely ignored all of them. I bet that his entire report was
written by Greenpeace and other anti-GM activists in the backroom of
his residential office in Delhi (I have been there). All points in
his report have been parroted by the antis' for ever.
I am a molecular biologist and geneticst working in UK with expertise in toxicology too. Although some forms of GM are good (increasing yield, drought resistance), the fact that the GM seeds are sterile, is a proble. It is not advisable for India to bring them in with out germplasm in pocession by India and not governed by patent issues, as that can allow serious dependence of India on imported seeds. Remember, the problem with Nuclear reactors where countries stopped fuel supply to reactors. Additionally GM crops that make toxins (BT cotton) is outright dangerous, no matter what safety data the company shows. Butterflies and other beneficial insects could be affted by these toxins and could change the biodiversity of the area.
Look at it from health poit of view.In USA several thousands of kids born are allergic to nuts, soy, wheat and even milk. the parents spend sleepless nights worrying about what their kids eat. They all the time carry Epipens to prevent fatal attacks from these allergies if the kid takes a bite of these nuts, soy etc by accident.It is pathetic.
Co you want kids in India die in thousands due to these allergies as certainly the allergies are due to BT vegetables. By Gods grace there are no such allergies so far in India till now.
Let us fight tooth and nail to prevent entry of BT in India,for the safety of the future generations.
Science is being mis-represented. GM crops can play an important role
in reducing the environmental footprint of agriculture. A ban on GM research would bereft the nation of a technological option that can be
of immense use to us. The ongoing confusion is drifting away a
generation of students and researchers from taking up research in
modern plant biology. The hon'ble MPs are requested to take an
objective decision in this regard, keeping in mind the overall
potential and our capability to harness biotechnology for welfare of
the nation.
The report makes a very heartening read. It is surprising that such an independent report with the farmers, citizen and country in mind has found its way out in 2012.
Rest assured that the Pawar players will ensure all the recommendations of this committee will come to naught.
I salute Mr. Acharya and the other members - who must have been under extreme pressure by the pawar lobbies to write a report to the contrary.
However remember that there was a person called Jaishuk Lal Hathi who in the 70s wrote a path breaking report on generic drugs - does anyone remember it? It was also hailed as innovative but the drug industry successfully scuttled it.
We hope the recommendations of this committee do not meet the same fate.
Jai Hind
Let us be careful to prevent any MNC or private company from monopolizing our
agriculture, whether with GM or not as this will inevitably lead to great financial
and supply risks.
Technology by itself is not bad but we need to ask ourselves if the pros outweigh
the cons. We in India have very poor regulatory bodies so that any suitable
investigation into the impact of new methods are likely to be hampered by massive
corruption.
A HYV crop will also require more fertilizer and be more sensitive to weather. If the
seeds cannot be reused, then the farmers will be hostage to the seed supplier who
can charge higher prices as his monopoly of the market widens. The lure of trying
to plant only the HYV strain in order to pay off debt with the supposedly higher
yields has ended up damaging our agriculture and costing thousands of farmers
their lives as they seek to escape debt through suicide.
The government must not cave into US pressure to let Monsanto take a
stranglehold on us!
@Siva: you suggest we should go into science and technology to debate over GM
seeds, I suggest you go just a bit deeper into this whole matter yourself and find out
what this Monsanto has done to US and its farmers then you will understand the
complete science of money making and destruction technology.
These companies don't want prosperity and free-will, they are just looking for
dominance over the whole world by total dependence on their products.
It is very sad that our political leadership cannot understand the danger involved in the GM technology!Or has our system so deeply been penetrated by the Multinationals that our leaders are blind to it.Nature is the Mother and she feeds us.Go with her not against! The chemical farming which uses fertilizers and pesticides pollutes the enviornment,destroys the insect kingdom and upsets the ecological balance!Since it is completely dependent on oil as the price of oil increases so too food prices increase.The chemicals which enter our body causes a lot of diseases in us.Heart ailments ,kidney failures and cancer are so common and can be traced to the food we eat.GM aggravates this by compulsory feeding us these foods through monopolizing seed production ans enslaving us! The solution to food scarcity is promoting backyard gardens where food is produced naturally .Since it is not dependent on chemicals the cost input is less and the food is safe and nutritious.Say no to GM and save us
This debate on GM crops has been going on without going into the science and technology behind the same. The adoption of Bt cotton by 90% of the farmers in India speaks of the success story. The non-availability of seeds is a myth and if it was true then research centres like CICR and other agricultural universities could have come up with cotton hybrids at a cheaper price and satisfied the farmers!Of the states selected, Goa and Kerals do not contribute much to the agriculture whether it is cotton or brinjal and so their views are just to get support for the antiGM views. If the committees of DBT like RCGM and GEAC with many top scientists are erring then it is a serious issue which should be looked into by the Ministry of Science. If we adopt a view that we are not convinced of the GM technology then DBT or any other Govt. funding agency should not be allowed to fund GM research in any crop in any place. Organic farming is not an alternate solution to GM for a number of reasons.
Basudeb Acharia is absolutely right: Monsanto's only aim is to enslave nations throughout the world, subjugating them under the US Govt rule. It is worse than the nuclear or financial warfare. I hope that not all Indian politicians will be eventually bribed by Monsanto.
There are factual errors readers need to know...
1) In India besides MMB's BT cotton India developed technologies are available from companies like Nath Seeds, JK seeds & Metahelix. BT cotton from MMB reaches to farmers through seeds of farmers choice supplied by more than 40 Indian seed companies.Farmers have all the choice including choice to not plant cotton, if not happy. Farmers in India are smart to choose what works for them. They choose Bt Cotton as they experience benefit season after season.
2) Price of Cotton seed containing Bollgard II technology today is Rs. 930 per packet and MMB get paid Rs. 163.28 as technology fee. Technology helps farmers save 5-7 rounds of insecticides plus application cost. Several independent studies have docuemented benefit of Rs. 5000-10000 per acre to the Bt Cotton farmer over non-Bt Cotton.
3) Biotech crops have been safely grown & consumed all over world for almost two decades without any adverse report.
THIS IS A SERIOUS MATTER THAT MUST RECIEVE MUCH MORE PUBLICITY IN THE MEDIA AND CALL FOR NATIONAL ATTENTION . Obviously the MNC promoting Bt Cotton is indirectly involved in setting target of enticing a certain number of farmers to Bt seed production using a system of cash advance. Intensively administered practices are used for Bt Cotton seed production involving a lot of work and exposure to highly hazardous chemicals. This also could be THE factor for the wide spread farmer suicides in the areas alreaDY under Bt Cotton .
And we as a nation must question whether it is in our long term national interest to allow any further GM Crops into the country at all .
Thanks Gargi Parsai and the Hindu for publishing this very important interview. It's heartening to see that the PAC on Agriculture charied by Sh. Basudeb Acharia has stood by the truth and provided unbiased recommendations based on facts and ground reality. There is still hope in this country to see that in spite of the mounting pressure from the international industry the committee stood its ground and favored in national interest.
I hope members of other ministries such as commerce who are under immense pressure to allow the 51 FDI think same and guard the national interests rather than winning favors.
I hope our learned economist prime minister feel the pulse of the Bharat and protect the poor farmers and rich biodiversity of the nation rather than helping ultra rich industry.
The Hindu and other Media groups, please keep a vigil and educate the common people about this crucial topic as not many people understand this.
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