Modified views on GM crops

 

More than twelve years after the commercialisation of BT cotton in the country, the government's views on the adoption of these genetically engineered technologies remain unclear. Last Saturday (February 14), for instance, agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh got widely quoted by the media after he addressed the India Seed Congress a day earlier in Agra.

'Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh bats for GM crops ', screamed headlines of reports by leading financial dailies. In his speech, Singh had talked about ways to enhance farmers' income and increase supply of quality food at affordable prices.

"BT cotton in Gujarat and other states like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu has clearly demonstrated what these new technologies can do to enhance farmer incomes with consequential effects on their well-being," he said.

The media interpreted this statement as a more favourable approach of the BJP-led NDA government towards introduction of genetically modified or GM crops . The news was carried prominently by the national media.

However, a day later, on Sunday, the government woke up to the media reports and came out with a clarification. "Some newspapers have published that the Agriculture Minister has advocated giving fillip to GM crops at the inaugural session of the Indian Seed Congress in Agra on February 13, 2015.

This is factually wrong. In fact, the Minister talked about increasing farmers' income and sustainable increase in productivity is closely linked to supply of quality seeds," said a statement issued by the Agriculture Ministry.

"The GM crop issue did not feature in the minister's speech as the matter is sub-judice in the Supreme Court. The Minister mentioned about BT cotton in the speech to inform that this was the only GM crop which is viable and grown for last 10 years," the statement said.

It is worth mentioning that Maharashtra, which is also led by NDA, had last month allowed field trials of genetically modified varieties of brinjal and rice. In India, only four of 29 states have allowed the trials of GM food crops. These are Maharashtra, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Delhi. India follows a cautious approach to field trials of edible crops. The Ministry of Environment and Forests had in July 2011 made it mandatory for companies, institutes and research bodies to get no-objection certificates from the states concerned before conducting trials.

Globally, biotech crops range from major commodities such as maize, soybean, canola and cotton, to crops like sugar beet and sweet corn, and to fruits and vegetables like papaya, squash, sweet pepper, and brinjal and, most recently, potato.