Gene Campaign is equally concerned with the fact that Monsanto-Mahyco's Bt cotton varieties are coming up for renewal at the meeting of the GEAC tomorrow. There is no justification for considering the Monsanto cotton for renewal since this Bt cotton has failed resoundingly almost every where it has been cultivated.
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IS THIS GOVERNMENT ANTI-FARMER?
Press Release
Contact: DR. SUMAN SAHAI
Phone: - +91 11 26517248; 98-110-41332
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
03 March 2005

Gene Campaign has said in a statement today that policy actions that this government is taking seem to be going in a direction that is distinctly anti farmer. This is curious for a government that came in on a pro-farmer plank and has steadfastly asserted that farmer issues were central to its mandate.

Dr. Sahai of Gene Campaign said that the government passed the Patent Ordinance in a rush allegedly because it was keen to comply with its international obligation to enforce the TRIPS derived Patent Act by 1 Jan 2005, its compliance date. Why , she asked has there been no such rush to enforce the Plant Variety Protection and Farmers Rights Act? This is also a TRIPS derived legislation and if the government is keen to comply with its international obligations, why is the Farmers Rights Act not yet enforced?

The Plant Variety Protection and Farmers Rights Act was passed by Parliament in 2001, the Rules have been framed two years ago and yet the government has not brought it into force. The Indian law is unique in the world as the only legislation that grants an explicit Farmers Right. This law which has been widely admired by developing countries as doing justice to the farming community and acknowledging its manifold contributions to agriculture and food security has been gathering dust for four years.

This is bad enough but worse is to come. The new Seed Bill which is in Parliament awaiting enactment any day is a Bill that negates the entitlements and protection granted to farmers in the Plant Variety Protection and Farmers Rights Act (PPVFR). It seeks instead to appease the seed industry which has been unhappy with the provisions of the Farmers Rights in the PPVFR by diluting these considerably.

The Liability and Compensation provisions of the PPVFR that allowed farmers to be compensated for spurious or poor quality seeds has been dispensed with in the Seed Bill, instead the farmer must try to claim compensation through District Consumer Courts. The stringent punishment and large penalties for violating the law that was put in as a deterrent against bad seeds in the PPVFR, has been reduced to a token which no one needs to be afraid of.

The Seed Bill does not require the industry to submit details of the parentage, that is, the varieties that were used to breed the new seeds it wants registered, so in effect it could use farmer varieties without paying anything to them. This negates another key provision of the PPVFR according to which details of parentage must be provided by anyone wanting to register their seed; if farmer varieties have been used in breeding the new variety, farmers are entitled to share in the profits through the benefit sharing mechanism.

The special loophole provided for GM varieties to find a way around the established procedures for variety evaluation shows another bias in the Seed Bill. GM varieties can get ‘provisional’ registration, bypassing all norms and in violation of biosafety requirements.

Gene Campaign is equally concerned with the fact that Monsanto-Mahyco's Bt cotton varieties are coming up for renewal at the meeting of the GEAC tomorrow. There is no justification for considering the Monsanto cotton for renewal since this Bt cotton has failed resoundingly almost every where it has been cultivated. Gene Campaign's three year study on Bt cotton performance in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra shows that farmers have suffered losses with this cotton and that other local varieties have performed better in all the states where Bt cotton was cultivated. A number of other organizations like Greenpeace, DDS and Center for Sustainable Agriculture have conducted independent field studies and reported that the Monsanto- Mahyco cotton has been a failure. First hand media investigations in the field tell the same story. The reports of the State governments from AP, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka, already submitted to the GEAC have also reported that farmers have suffered losses with the Monsanto cotton. In fact the former Agriculture Minister of AP had asked that farmers be compensated for the losses suffered on account of Bt cotton.

It is appalling that in the current anti farmer mood of today, little thought is being given to the losses that farmers have suffered with the Monsanto cotton and it is being considered for renewal. The Seed Bill is in need of drastic revision and the PPVFR with its Farmers Rights must be enforced immediately.

Gene Campaign has written to the National Commission on Farmers to take up these issues with the government right away to ensure that the PPVFR is enforced and to have
a substantial review of the pending Seed Bill. We herewith also request the government to appoint a Joint Parliamentary Committee to conduct a stakeholder consultation and take the views of experts from various fields, including farming and tribal communities, Dr. Sahai said.

Dr. Suman Sahai

Regd. Office - New Delhi
Gene Campaign, J-235/A, Lane W-15C, Sainik Farms, Khanpur, New Delhi - 110 062 (INDIA)
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Regional Office- Jharkhand
Gene Campaign; Millat Colony, Bariatu Basti, Ranchi - 834009, Jharkhand
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Regional Office: -Uttaranchal
Gene Campaign, Ramgarh, Dist. Nainital, Uttaranchal
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