1.BKU torches GM rice test field in Karnal
2.GM variety may spell trouble for Indian rice
QUOTE: "GM Basmati could spell death knell for the industry" - Amira Foods India's Managing Director Karan Chanana (item 2)
"Currently, the EU restrictions are applied to the US only. But as other countries flirt with GM, we can expect similar restrictions applied to them as well" - India's largest Basmati rice exporter Tilda Riceland's Director R S Seshadri told PTI. (item 2)
"On Friday, we got a tip-off from Hyderabad that such tests were underway in Karnal. So we decided to burn the harvest. We have also sent a team to Gorakhpur (UP) where similar trials are going on in a field. We are awaiting the report." - Rakesh Tikait, BKU's national spokesperson and son of BKU president Mahinder Singh Tikait (item 1)
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1.BKU torches GM rice test field in Karnal
GAUTAM DHEER Indian Express, October 30 2006 http://www.indianexpress.com/story/15675.html
CHANDIGARH, OCTOBER 29 : In a serious setback for field tests of genetically modified (GM) rice, activists of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) have torched the sole field in Haryana where tests for the modified rice variety were being carried out.
The incident took place at Rampura in Karnal district on Saturday where modified rice was in the harvest stage. Some 400 BKU activists torched the crop, saying it would contaminate soil and affect the existing variety of rice. After the incident, BKU threatened to burn all such fields in the country where trials are underway.
The Rampura land, where the tests were on, had been leased by a farmer to Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company Ltd (Mahyco), Monsanto’s seed partner in India. Mahyco-Monsanto was the first to release Bt cotton in India in 2002. Mahyco has been authorised by the Government’s Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) to undertake field trials for GM rice in the country.
Rakesh Tikait, BKU's national spokesperson and son of BKU president Mahinder Singh Tikait, told The Indian Express that "such trials will be disastrous for the farmers as they will not only contaminate the soil, but also adversely affect yield from existing rice varieties".
"On Friday, we got a tip-off from Hyderabad that such tests were underway in Karnal. So we decided to burn the harvest. We have also sent a team to Gorakhpur (UP) where similar trials are going on in a field. We are awaiting the report," Tikait said.
Sources said that no complaint has been registered by the Karnal police so far.
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2.GM variety may spell trouble for Indian rice
The Hindu, October 30 2006 http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/015200610300311.htm
New Delhi, Oct 30. (PTI): Commercial cultivation of genetically modified variety of rice in India could lead to restrictions being imposed by the European Union on the country's grain export to the region, the industry has warned.
The country's leading rice exporters, who are planning to meet the Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar with their demand on this issue, said that EU has introduced new test requirements for rice import from the US after some consignments were found to be contaminated with unauthorised GM varieties.
"Currently, the EU restrictions are applied to the US only. But as other countries flirt with GM, we can expect similar restrictions applied to them as well," the country's largest Basmati rice exporter Tilda Riceland's Director R S Seshadri told PTI.
The rice industry is against the commercialisation of GM variety, another leading Basmati exporter Kohinoor Foods' Managing Director Gurnam Arora said.
"We are planning to meet Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on this issue," Arora aid.
India's rice export to the EU totalled Rs 507.31 crore in 2005-06, as against Rs 508.46 crore in the previous year. The country's total rice exports dropped 8 per cent to Rs 6,221.26 crore in 2005-06 from Rs 6,768.91 crore in the previous year.
If India can toy with the idea of GM rice, the country's Rs 507.32 crore export market in Europe could be in trouble, KRBL Ltd, which markets India Gate rice brand, Chairman and Managing Director Anil Mittal said.
"The US is now facing problems due to contamination of GM rice with other non-GM varieties in its export consignment to Europe," Seshadri said.
America has a well-established export market of 3,00,000 tonnes in Europe. However, after the US government identified an unauthorised GM variety in its rice supply, the European Commission responded by introducing new test requirements.
"Although test results showed that the contamination is approximately 1 grain in 3,000, the EU's rule of zero tolerance for any unauthorised GM, the situation is extremely volatile with the prospect of further restrictions beingintroduced," Sheshadri said.
GM rice variety remains illegal in Europe unless and until the specific variety has undergone rigorous approval, he added.
Any GM varieties that might be cultivated in India in the future would have to get prior approval by the EU before export to the region. Otherwise, we can expect the same import restrictions to all Indian rice, including Basmati, he cautioned while adding, "we cannot allow something like that to happen to Basmati."
Amira Foods India's Managing Director Karan Chanana echoed similar sentiments.
"GM Basmati could spell death knell for the industry," he said.
As there is a huge debate going on in the world about the acceptability of GM produce, Chanana said, "GM rice is not currently the requirement of the nation. We are not prepared for its consequences. Hence India should not allow GM rice on its soil."