ENVIRONMENT:
Indian Farmers Win Battle Against GM Cotton
Sanjay Suri
LONDON, May 25 (IPS) - Indian farmers have won a small battle against GM
crops by establishing simply that they can be less productive than normal
crops.
Earlier this month the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee of the
Indian government withheld licenses for commercial cultivation on three
varieties of genetically modified (GM) cotton developed by the U.S., firm
Monsanto - Mech-12 Bt, Mech-162 Bt and Mech-184 Bt.
That was followed by a painstaking campaign by several non-governmental
organizations. ''For the last three years we carried out systemic
research in Monsanto's Bt cotton,'' P.V. Satheesh, who heads the
Coalition in Defence of Diversity in the southern Indian state Andhra
Pradesh told IPS in London Tuesday. That led to the ban on the three
varieties of GM cotton seeds.
''Every year we have been socking the results into the face of
Monsanto,'' Satheesh said. ''They were not able to counter us. So it
became very compelling for the Andhra government and for the Government
of India to act.''
The three-year scientific study tracked the experiences of small farmers
from planting to harvest in the Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh. ''It
found that three GM cotton varieties did not live up to the claims made
by the agro-company Maycho-Monsanto and performed less well than
traditional non-GM seeds,'' the International Institute for Environment
and Development (IIED) which supported the anti-GM campaign said in a
statement Tuesday.
Though costing nearly 400 per cent more to buy, the average yield from
the GM cotton was about 150kg per acre, 30 percent less than from other
non-GM varieties. The GM seeds also cost 12 percent more to cultivate in
their need for manure and irrigation, and the reduction in pesticide use
was negligible.
''Non-GM farmers earned 60 percent more than their GM counterparts over
the three-year period,'' IIED said.
This is the first success of the campaign against GM crops in India,
Satheesh said. ''India has one percent of the global GM crop coverage,
but there is a strong biotech wing that wants to push it ahead. They see
in this global opportunities for India,'' he said.
That push is being countered at present by many groups of farmers, NGOs,
and by ''people involved in agricultural research who are trying to
express concern,'' Satheesh said.
India imports GM seeds from Monsanto and Syngenta, the leading companies
developing GM crops, and is also seeking to develop genes from seeds
bought from these companies. In such cases the major royalties and
control lie with Monsanto and Syngenta, Satheesh said.
Several farmers have been cornered into buying GM seeds, Satheesh
said. ''Small farmers have to buy seeds on credit from dealers. The
dealers get huge commissions from Monsanto, and since they cost four
times as much as normal seeds, they get larger commissions.''
The dealers ask farmers to take a part of the seeds that are GM, and
farmers have to comply, Satheesh said. ''Add to that pesticides and
fertilizers; it is all a part of a credit package, and farmers have to
accept the package.''
Every year farmers have been suffering huge losses as a result, he
said. ''Earlier this year farmers went into Warangal town, and smashed
into the stores of dealers selling Monsanto seeds. They created an
environment in which the government group had to ban these crops.''
But the campaign against the GM cotton is only a small step forward for
anti-GM campaigners. Strong government lobbies are pushing hard for
further development of GM crops.
''This is a small but significant victory that signposts a way forward
for small farmers and civil society the world over,'' Satheesh said in a
statement earlier. ''But only a moratorium on the commercial release of
GM cotton seeds will ensure that the Andhra Pradesh tragedy is not
repeated across Asia, Africa and Latin America.''
Dr Michel Pimbert, director of the sustainable agriculture and rural
livelihoods programme at IIED said: ''Rich government leaders are hotly
debating the development agenda, but, sadly, small farmers and others
such as the urban poor go largely unheard. This democratic deficit is
harming both people and environment.''
This is the first time GM crops have been banned in India. Cotton is
being cultivated first but others crops are in the pipeline,'' Satheesh
said. ''Rice, mustard and vegetables are being looked at.''
(END/2005)
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