Data obtained from the Directorate of Agriculture's records show... pesticide usage, including specifically insecticide usage in cotton, has actually been going up in the recent past even though Bt Cotton has spread rapidly in the state... official records [also] acknowledge the surfacing of newer pests like Mirid Bug in Bt Cotton which is causing economic losses too in districts like Haveri. Further, cost of production per quintal of cotton has been showing an erratic trend too, which clearly demonstrates that the costs for farmers have not come down.

India exports the majority of its soybean meal, mixed with poultry feed as a form of protein to aid the growth of birds and cattle. Meal from the South Asian country is preferred by buyers in Southeast Asia because it’s made from non-genetically modified seeds and has short delivery times, Agrawal said.

“A significant portion of land in Banaskantha district is being used by local farmers, mostly from the Patel community, to cultivate Bt cotton. And these farmers are employing tribal children from the region as well as the border districts of Rajasthan,” said Jayanti Makwana, a member of Buniyadi Adhikar Andolan Gujarat (BAAG), an amalgamation of various state-based NGOs, at a press conference.

The Association of Biotechnology-led enterprises has demanded the early introduction of Bt Brinjal in the country for the benefit of farmers with withdrawal of moratorium on the commercialisation of the crop. [...] “Though the academic bodies have given positive feedback to the government regarding the introduction of Bt Brinjal, centre is yet to act on it,” T M Manjunath, consultant, agri-biotechnology and IPM and a member of ABLE said.

A Greenpeace India delegation Tuesday met the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture and demanded a ban on Genetically Modified crops, saying that they were a threat to the country’s agriculture, food safety and environment. The delegation made a presentation before the standing committee and presented evidence and credible publications outlining the threats posed by GM crops.

If the authorities in India read David Andow’s report on Bt brinjal they would have to put a permanent moratorium on the genetically modified vegetable. The US entomologist is one of the recognised experts on the environmental risks of GM crops, and his just-released report - Bt Brinjal: The scope and adequacy of the GEAC environmental risk assessment - reveals how limited the regulator’s appraisal of the developer’s safety data was.

Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh’s crusade against genetically modified or Bt food will get a political fillip as well. Parliament’s Standing Committee on Agriculture, currently studying the pros and cons of allowing Bt brinjals or other genetically modified foods, is likely to oppose these on various grounds.

A Bt-cotton variety targeted mainly at poor farmers because it is public-sector developed and, hence, cheap has failed in some parts, embarrassing government scientists and causing losses to growers. The government variety was flaunted as a boon for poor farmers because they could save the seeds and re-use them, unlike expensive Bt hybrids sold by MNCs, such as Monsanto’s, which need to be bought afresh each season.

Monsanto, the biotechnology major, holds the view that mandatory labelling of products made from genetically modified organisms in India would make no sense. It favours options such as companies voluntarily labelling products as not containing GMOs, and individuals making a personal decision not to consume food containing GM ingredients.

Transgenic aubergine still banned after encouraging report is discredited. India’s moratorium on genetically modified food crops is unlikely to be lifted after it emerged that key sections from a landmark report by six Indian science academies, which recommended that the country resume planting of GM food crops, had been plagiarized from an article in favour of such crops. The environment ministry this week rejected the academies’ report. The anti-GM-crops lobby has seized on the controversy, and Indian scientists fear that the episode has undermined the country’s international scientific reputation.