1. M'rashtra farm widows, activists to oppose GM crops
2. Mahyco allowed to sell Bt cotton seeds
1.M'rashtra farm widows, activists to oppose GM crops
Deccan Herald, May 12 2013
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/332039/m039rashtra-farm-widows-activists-oppose.html
Mumbai - Widows of farmers who committed suicide in the Bt-cotton fields of Maharashtra-Vidarbha, along with tribals and agriculturists, are gearing up to intensify their agitation against the introduction of GM (genetically-modified) seeds into the food crops.
A series of state-wide protests, including hunger strikes and night-long torch marches from the farmland suicide epicentre-Maregaon (Sonbardi) in Yavatmal district, is being planned in the coming weeks.
Last week, a state-appointed committee headed by Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) -Member-Dr Anil Kakodkar quietly met at the Central Institute for Cotton Research (CCIR), Nagpur, deliberating over proposals submitted by 29 seed companies seeking no-objection certificate for carrying out field tests of GM food crops in Maharashtra.
The secrecy-filled meeting with members of the committee refusing to furnish details has invited wrath from environmentalists, ecologists, and farmland activists.
Talking over phone from Nagpur, farm-land activist Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS) said: “The appointment of Dr Kakodkar who spent his life in Bhabha Atomic Research Centre with a specialisation in mechanical engineering is itself strange.”
“One could have understood if eminent persons with integrity from fields of medicine, agriculture, environmental sciences, life sciences, and social sciences who could have impartially assessed the impact technology with doubtful records and history, have on human body, environment, society, and people. The introduction of Bt cotton seeds is a case in point of a tragedy that is enacted out in Vidarbha fields with farmers quietly snuffing out their lives.”
Interestingly, even as the Centre and several lobbyists working for multi-national corporations were tom-tomming about the increase in the yield, Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil reluctantly admitted that it was time to review the Bt-cotton use as not only the input cost shot up sky-high but it "also did not bring any benefit to the farming community".
Tiwari charged that Dr Kakodkar has been known to toe the government line and “that is why we have written letters to all Parliament members to save lives of Indian masses by opposing the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill, 2013.
"It is a bill which does not even take into consideration concerns expressed by the Task Force set up in 2004 to study agriculture biotechnology under the leadership of eminent agricultural scientist M S Swaminathan....the bill is just a green signal to allow dumping of dubious technology for experimenting it on Indian masses.
“It is surprising that while western countries go for organic food, our political leaders in Maharashtra surreptitiously allow clandestine trials of GM seeds in food crops...the fixation is really strange,” Tiwari remarked.
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2.Mahyco allowed to sell Bt cotton seeds
The Hindu, May 7, 2013
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/mahyco-allowed-to-sell-bt-cotton-seeds/article4689665.ece
MUMBAI - After cancelling its licence to sell 12 varieties of Bt cotton seeds last year, the State government has allowed Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco) to sell the seeds in the coming kharif season, subject to certain conditions.
Confirming this, State agriculture commissioner Umakant Dangat told The Hindu on Monday that Mahyco had given an affidavit to him stating that the company would supply 10 lakh packets of Bt cotton seeds of the popular MRC 7351 variety. The company would submit a detailed production programme and ensure proper distribution of the seeds. It would also ensure that the seeds were sold at Rs. 930 per packet for this variety. One of the complaints last year was the inflated prices at which seed packets were sold. The decision was taken keeping in mind the high demand for this variety, Mr. Dangat added.
Mahyco had appealed to the High Court against the decision of the office of the Controller and Director, Commissionerate of Agriculture (Inputs and Quality Control) last August to cancel the licence to sell 12 varieties of Bt cotton seeds under the Maharashtra Cotton Seed Rules, 2010, for violating the conditions of the licence. Under the Rules, the Controller can ask for information on seed supply. The licence was cancelled after the government found that the company had submitted false information to district officials of the agricultural department on seed supply for the kharif season, among other reasons.
Mr. Dangat said as the agriculture commissioner, he was the appellate authority under the Cotton Seeds Act and the company could not approach the High Court till this alternative remedy was exhausted. Accordingly, Mahyco withdrew its petition and an interim stay was granted on the cancellation of licence on April 30. Mr. Dangat said a final order would be passed shortly after hearing both parties.
Mahyco has also agreed to provide five lakh packets of other varieties of Bt cotton for this kharif season. The company did not comment on the matter.
The government had issued Mahyco a show cause notice on May 31, 2012, asking for an explanation on the alleged black marketing and hoarding of seeds and not providing correct information on seed supply for the kharif season. The company had failed to submit detailed information at the district level and Bt cotton MRC 7351 packets could not be distributed properly. This led to unrest among the farmers and rasta roko in Yeola, Nashik and at Beed, where police lathi charged farmers.
Mahyco was charged with giving false information and not submitting a proper production plan. Consequently, the Bt cotton seeds were sold at a higher price in the black market. A first information report was lodged against the company at the Beed police station on June 1 for cheating and criminal breach of trust. In the 2012 kharif season, the company said it would provide 10.56 lakh seed packets, but provided only 6.50 lakh packets.