India has denied allegations levied by the European Commission on genetically modified organisms contamination in basmati rice exported from India. The Directorate-General Health and Consumers of the European Commission had issued a notification to the Union ministry of commerce and industry on May 2 seeking a reply on an unknown and unauthorised GMO being found in the rice exported from India. [...] the government in its reply to director general of DGHC has informed that no GM food crops are being grown in India and so there is no question of contamination.

The Rajasthan Government has withdrawn its ‘no objection certificate’ given for conducting transgenic mustard field trial at an advanced stage. The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee has found fault with it for doing such a thing. The Department of Agriculture in Rajasthan have given the NOC for holding trials at three locations. But towards the end of the second season trial, the Government directed the research team to terminate them.

Noting that Bt Cotton has contributed a "structural transformation" in the farming sector, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh Tuesday suggested a government study to ascertain that genetically modified crops are a sustainable option. Ramesh, however, stressed that his decision during his stint as Environment Minister to put a moratorium on Bt Brinjal was "right" and "history will vindicate" it. "The fact is that over 95 per cent of the farmers in states after state have adopted Bt Cotton....Why our farmers are doing this? Obviously, they are doing it because returns have increased," Ramesh said rejecting "the conspiritorial view" that farmers were cultivating Bt Brinjal as non-Bt seed had been elbowed out of market.

In this north Indian village, workers recently dismantled stacks of burned and mildewed rice while flies swarmed nearby over spoiled wheat. Local residents said the rice crop had been sitting along the side of a highway for several years and was now being sent to a distillery to be turned into liquor. Just 180 miles to the south, in a slum on the outskirts of New Delhi, Leela Devi struggled to feed her family of four on meager portions of flatbread and potatoes, which she said were all she could afford on her disability pension and the irregular wages of her day-laborer husband. Her family is among the estimated 250 million Indians who do not get enough to eat. Such is the paradox of plenty in India’s food system. Spurred by agricultural innovation and generous farm subsidies, India now grows so much food that it has a bigger grain stockpile than any country except China, and it exports some of it to countries like Saudi Arabia and Australia.

A study conducted by the Council for Social Development on Bt cotton, titled Socio-Economic Impact Assessment of Bt cotton in India, has concluded that the genetically modified cotton has improved farmers’ lives with its better yields and higher returns. The nation-wide study by the informal study group of social scientists and social workers was funded by farmers’ outfit Bharat Krishak Samaj (BKS) and was released in Delhi on Thursday. The study states that enhanced yield of cotton by 4.95 per cent has led to a substantial increase in average net returns of farmers by 375 per cent. These higher returns, in turn, have enabled farmers to spend more on health, education, nutritious food and social needs, which has improved their standard of living, the report says. A report by Down to Earth had, however, found that cotton productivity in the country has become stagnant for the past few years after the initial gains that were reported.

Greenpeace has welcomed the Federation of Tamil Nadu Rice Mill Owners & Paddy – Rice Dealers Association’s demand to safeguard rice, from being genetically modified and underscoring the value of biodiversity that is intrinsically linked with the economic stability of the association. [...] the association representing over a 100 taluka and district level associations as members, wrote to the ministry of commerce, the All India Rice Exporters Association and the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee demanding that the authorities take all the necessary steps to ensure no permission is given for any research on GM paddy.

Hundreds of farmers who have sown costly seeds of Bt cotton are in dire straits following a continuous dry spell in the district for over a month. The plants which have reached the flowering stage are beginning to wither as rain continues to elude the district. Many farmers in Rampura, Devasamudra and Jagir Buddenahally area in Molakalmuru taluk have sown seeds of Vibha, Jadoo developed by companies like Nuziveedu Seeds and Monsanto, said Kengegouda, assistant agricultural officer. A packet of 450gm of seeds costs Rs 930. Normally farmers sow seeds in the last week of February or first week of March.

Forced to work for 14-hours at a stretch and even carry pesticides on their back, the plight children engaged as child labour in the Bt cotton production has often gone unnoticed, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has said in its latest survey report. To rescue these children and in an effort to curb the growing problem of child labour in Bt cotton fields in some states, the Commission in collaboration with the labour department of Andhra Pradesh, conducted a State-wide meeting with BT cotton seed companies in Hyderabad in May. “Child labour is being engaged in large numbers in Bt cotton fields in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. They are forced to work for 14 hours and even carry pesticides exposing themselves to toxins,” said Commission member Dr. Yogesh Dube who visited the area.

A top agricultural research official’s idea that India’s age-old plant genetic resources can be made available to MNCs in return for better technology for farmers has invited criticism from non-governmental groups as well as individuals. [...] But several groups and noted persons - such as Vandana Shiva from Navdanya, Prof. Anil Sadgopal, former dean, faculty of education, University of Delhi, Dr G. V. Ramanjaneyulu, centre for sustainable agriculture, and Dr K. Babu Rao, convener, movement for people centred development - have written to the PM and the agricultural ministry against Datta’s statement, saying that such collaborations only fill up the MNCs’ pockets.

India’s Rs 8,000-crore seed sector is bracing for a hit because farmers shun cotton this summer after expanding the acreage for two consecutive years. Cotton prices have hovered around the minimum support price for most of the current season, putting farmers in distress.

BT cotton’s loss in the battle for acres has enormous corporate interest because it rakes in a third of the seed industry’s revenues. [...] Despite supply tops demand, seeds of top brands are being sold in black market for a huge premium. “Seeds of a leading multinational seed company are being sold for Rs 2,500/packet against its MRP of Rs 930/packet,” said a source. The Maharashtra government has filed 11 cases for overpricing.