GM crops

The report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture is a negation of the fact that many farmers who grew Bt cotton in 2010-11 brought benefit to themselves and the country (“GM crops are no way forward,” Aug. 24). Vidharbha’s distress, the result of wrong policies, is not representative of India. There is no science which can help grow plants without water.

The record food production is the hard work of thousands of agriculture scientists. But they are the least recognised. In the next 30 years, food production in India needs to be doubled. Genetically Modified crops may not be the last word. But they are an option that can be experimented with. India, China and African countries need to adopt GM crops. The report does not see truth in its entirety.

Joseph Vackayil,

Chennai

GM crops, representative of crony capitalism, are actually a curse on people in general and farmers in particular. The government favours GM crops because it thinks they will provide food security but, in the process, it is ignoring the cost (impact on farmers, environment, livestock, etc.). And, most important, the poor for whom the government wants to ensure food security will not be there to enjoy the fruits because of the consequences of genetic engineering.

Amit Gupta,

Delhi