THE recent death of 93 goats after grazing near a cotton field in Bolangir, a tribal-dominated district in Orissa, has put the authorities on alert. The field in Kuthurla village, Khaprakhol block, was reportedly under Bt cotton cultivation. The state government discourages cultivation of Bt cotton as a matter of policy. Following the incident, the police arrested one Shankar Deep from the village for allegedly poisoning the goats by sprinkling organophosphate pesticides, a potent neurotoxin, on the field.

A field trial of genetically-modified rice conducted earlier this year on a farm in Jharkhand’s Ranchi district flouted rules, a non-government agency campaigning for better regulation of biotechnology has claimed. The New Delhi-based Gene Campaign on Tuesday accused Mahyco, a Mumbai-based seed company, of planting an experimental GM rice on a farm in Saparong village without physical isolation of the trial area from neighbouring farms.

After an overwhelming success of Bacillus thurengiensis (Bt) cotton, Bt brinjal is all set to go commercial from the next sowing season, with the completion of its trial runs. After the launch, Bt brinjal will become the first edible product in the country to be grown using genetically modified (GM) seeds. According to R K Sinha, executive director, All India Crop Biotechnology Association, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research has been sowing GM seeds of Bt brinjal for the last four to five years and has found no harm in commercialising it with adequate approval from the authorities concerned.

Data on clinical trials of genetically-modified (GM) brinjal have been made public by the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) of the environment ministry. The development comes even as Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco) had filed a petition before the Delhi High Court to prevent disclosure of the details of clinical trials on GM brinjal by the Review Committee on Genetic Modification of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT).

As things stand, the scope for this crop seems limited, for the reason that soyabean is largely a self-pollinating plant, rendering hybridisation a commercially unviable option. The flexibility for farmers to save, use or even multiply and sell seeds from the previous year’s crop has deterred private seed companies from entering the segment in the country. [...] ”There are intellectual property rights (IPR) issues in soyabean. This is unlike in cotton or corn, where hybrid seeds by themselves ensure IPR protection. GM soyabean may not be viable for us unless the IPR issues are addressed through appropriate models as in say, Brazil,” said Dr Rashmi S. Nair, Team Lead, Global Scientific Affairs, Monsanto Company.

Agriculture Minister Mullakkara Ratnakaran has expressed grave concern over the proposed National Biotechnology Regulatory Bill. The Minister said the Bill contained dangerous provisions that would prevent democratic control over genetic experiments and harm the farmers and consumers. Though agriculture was a State subject, the Centre had not asked the views of the State on the proposed legislation. This was highly objectionable. The Bill had provisions to take away the powers of the State government and local self- governments regarding testing and production of genetically modified crops and impose Central decisions on the States.

The scare of Bt cotton has come real and in a cruel way. Around 120 goats died after consuming Bt cotton leaves cultivated in Patnagarh sub-division on Sunday. Bt cotton is banned though its seeds are illegally available in the State. Police have detained one Shankar Deep who had taken on lease the land for cultivation of Bt cotton and have registered an FIR. [...] Villagers say that the goats died after chewing Bt cotton leaves. The goats were found fainting in the area where they ate Bt cotton leaves. On postmortem, it was found that all the goats had Bt cotton leaves in their stomach.

An application seeking a complete moratorium on release of any genetically-modified (GM) crops in the environment till an independent testing facility is set up in India, will be listed for hearing in the Supreme Court on Tuesday. A ”review of six years of Bt cotton experience” is sought on the opinion of Dr P M Bhargava, the noted microbiological expert. He says ”it is necessary that review must take place during a full moratorium on all GM crops, including Bt cotton” — a view that will be placed before a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan.

The National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute (NABI) and Bioprocessing Unit (BPU), to be built at a cost of Rs 380 crore, will be a part of the first Agri-food Park cluster being developed in the Knowledge City at Mohali. ”The central institute will have a major role in implementing relevant biotechnology programmes in the state and generating the required human resource,” Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi said after a meeting of the Union Cabinet, which approved the project.

Cotton production may not witness a significant fall despite reduction in acreage by about five lakh hectares in 2008-09, thanks to better yield expected from increasing cultivation of genetically modified Bt-cotton. Area under cotton cultivation declined to 85.9 lakh hectares as on August 17 from 90.7 lakh hectares on the same period last year, according to government data. ”While area under cultivation has shrunk, it will not have much impact on the output, as more than 80 per cent of farmers have planted Bt-cotton this year,” President of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industries P D Patodia said.