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Bt cotton failures in India (Oct. 1, 2002 -- CropChoice news) -- The following information comes from ECO-India.
"In three major states Bt. cotton has been wiped out completely leaving
farmers in great economic and livelihood crisis. Not only the new pests
and diseases emerged, the Bt. cotton has failed to even prevent bollworm
attack for which it has been designed. While Bt. cotton is sold as pest
resistant seed in India, it has proved to be more vulnerable to pest and
diseases than the traditional and conventional varieties."
1. Failure of Bt. Cotton in India: How many more farmers will Monsanto
sacrifice for creating profits by selling deceit?
2. Lokvaani-Hindi Journal Comes Up Opposing GM Crops
---
1. Press Release
Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology (RFSTE)
26th September 2002
Failure of Bt. Cotton in India
How many more farmers will Monsanto sacrifice for creating profits by
selling deceit
On 26th March 2002 inspite of inadequate tests of biosafety and
viability, Monsanto managed to get clearance for commercial planting of
three varieties of genetically engineered Bt. cotton from Genetic
Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) under Ministry of Environment and
Forests (MoEF).
Ironically, this permission was granted in spite of an ongoing Supreme
Court case, filed by RFSTE, challenging the 1998 field trials and
stating that there were numerous irregularities and violations of
biosafety laws and guidelines in previous year field trials. Even then
the GEAC have cleared Bt cotton for commercial release by
Monsanto-Mahyco.
The Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology (RFSTE),
Navdanya, farmers unions and public interests groups in India had warned
the government that this irresponsible, rushed clearance would have high
cost for farmers in terms of the economic sovereignty and seed
sovereignty. What we have had predicted has come true.
In three major states Bt. cotton has been wiped out completely leaving
farmers in great economic and livelihood crisis. Not only the new pests
and diseases emerged, the Bt. cotton has failed to even prevent bollworm
attack for which it has been designed. While Bt. cotton is sold as pest
resistant seed in India, it has proved to be more vulnerable to pest and
diseases than the traditional and conventional varieties.
Madhya Pradesh, the heart of the cotton-growing belt in India, witnessed
total failure of genetically engineered Bt. cotton. The farmers of
Khargoan district where Bt. is a 100% failure are up in arms against
Monsanto-Mahyco that supplied these GM seeds and are demanding
compensation from the company for the failure of their crop. The failure
of the Bt. cotton has devastated the farmers since they have spent five
to six times to buy seeds of Bt. than the normal seed. The economics
that was worked out by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research
(ICAR), Genetic Engineering Approval Committee and Monsanto-Mahyco to
promote this unsustainable technology has turned out to be untrue.
Bt. cotton has been afflicted with the 'leaf curl virus' in the whole of
northern states of India. Dr Venugopal, ex-project coordinator of the
Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR), Coimbatore told Business
Line that while some of the private hybrids and varieties released
earlier were resistant to LCV, Bt cotton was found susceptible to LCV.
In Maharashtra, the adjoining state of Madhya Pradesh, the same story
has been repeated. In Vidarbha, primarily cotton growing area in
Maharashtra, Bt. cotton crop has failed miserably. The first GE crop has
been failed in 30,000 hectares in this district alone, completely
devastating the already poor farming community. The farmers of the area
are demanding a compensation of Rs. 5000 million (500 crores rupees) to
meet their economic loss lest they would take a legal action against the
Government of Maharashtra and Monsanto-Mahyco for allowing sale of
inadequately tested GM seeds.
The Bt. cotton crop in Vidarbha has been badly affected by the root-rot
disease, a disease of roots. It is believed that this disease is caused
due to wrong selection of Bt genes developed in America and brought to
India. Many farmers have recorded only upto 50% germination of seeds and
many others had poor germination, which is suspected to be caused by
both, drought and poor seed quality. While other cotton varieties have
also been adversely affected by the drought, they report a failure rate
of only around 20%.
President of the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, Mr. Kishore Tiwari, gave a
legal notice to Ministry of Agriculture demanding the recovery of loss
of Rs. 500 (5000 million rupees) crore incurred by the farmers due to
sowing of Bt. cottonseeds.
The main idea behind approving genetically engineered Bt. cotton as a
commercial crop was that this would increase farmers' income by reducing
expenditure on chemical pesticides, which accounts for 70-80% of the
total expenditure on hybrid cotton due to the heavy infestation of pest,
mainly American Bollworm in last 3-4 years and the increased evolution
of resistance to the chemical pesticides.
However, in Gujarat there is a heavy infestation of bollworm on the Bt.
cotton in the districts of Bhavanagar, Surendranagar and Rajkot.
Initially Bt. Cotton was found resistant to Bollworms in the early phase
of plant growth, but as soon as the formation of boll has started, the
worms started attacking them. The Department of Agriculture, Government
of Gujarat has written to the Gujarat Agricultural University to submit
a status report providing detailed information about the kind and
intensity of the damage. It has also been found that Gujarat is growing
18,000 hectares of the Bt. cotton more than the permitted 12,000
hectares by the Government of India. (Gujarat Samachar, 21st September 2002)
The failure of Bt. cotton case in India reaffirms RFSTE's stand of
safety first- commercial release of any new genetically engineered crops
(e.g. transgenic mustard) and organisms must be frozen till a proper
independent tests are conducted, the proper biosafety structure are put
in place and capacity is built at the multiple level of governments as
well as farmers to deal with biosafety issues.
It is not just in the case of Bt. cotton that corporation like Monsanto
are deceiving poor farmers. Monsanto is pushing the farmers of drought
stricken and famine-ridden Udaipur and neighbouring districts of
Rajasthan to take to industrial farming of maize, and to use its Roundup,
no doubt as a prelude to introducing the genetically engineered Roundup
Ready varieties once farmers are further pushed on to this ecologically
genocidal herbicide trap. But Monsanto is introducing hybrid corn and
Roundup (herbicide) with false claims to deceive poor and innocent
farmers of Rajasthan.
Monsanto claims that as a result of the Humsafar programme, the yield of
maize rose from 25 quintals per hectare to 50 quintals per hectare and
the profitability of the farmers also doubled form Rs. 7500 per hectare
to Rs. 15000 per hectare, whereas its publicity brochures distributed
among the farmers is claiming even much higher yields i.e. 50-90
quintals per acre (125-225/ hectare).
However, a study conducted by RFSTE shows that Monsanto claims are based
on utter lies. Monsanto's own field staff at Wana and Menar villages in
Udaipur reported that their varieties have achieved maize productivity
of only 12 quintals/acre (30 quintal/hec.).
Three Different and Contradictory Productivity Claims by Monsanto:
~ Reported by Monsanto field staff:
2.4 qtls/ bigha ; 12 qtls/acre ; 30 qtls/ hectares
~ Reported by Monsanto for the Humsafar Award:
4 qtls/ bigha ; 20 qtls/acre ; 50 qtls/ hectares
~ Reported by Monsanto in its brochure:
18-20 qtls/ bigha ; 50-90 qtls/acre ; 125-225 qtls/ hect.
However discussion with farmers growing Monsanto varieties and desi
(local) varieties reveals that there is hardly any difference in the
yield compared to the desi maize varieties. While desi maize varieties
yield 6 quintals per acre (15 quintals per hectare) whereas Monsanto
varieties yield 7 quintals per acre (17.5 quintals per hectare).
Moreover there is a vast difference in the cost of the desi and Monsanto
varieties. While cost of these Monsanto seeds vary from Rs. 250 to 275
for a packet of 5 Kg., whereas the same quantity of Desi/Local varieties
costs only Rs. 25/-. However there have been no tests, whether these
"high yielding" hybrid varieties seeds are genetic engineered. This is
urgently required since Monsanto has recently extended its operation to
98 villages in Udaipur, Chittorgarh and Banswara districts of Rajasthan
and so far So far about 80 tonnes of seed have been sold to the farmers
of the region.
However, Monsanto's much-lauded project "Humsafar" actually involves the
introduction of its eco-narcotic, Roundup (the controversial
glysophate-based herbicide) to small and marginal peasants Udaipur, and
turning an important local food and fodder crop into raw material for
industry. Monsanto, through its new varieties of maize, is pushing to
increase the sales of its broad-based herbicide Roundup in Rajasthan.
For Roundup, farmers are being totally misled about its safety in a
region, which is drought prone, the ready recipe for desertification.
Herbicide use is supposed to reduce labour involved in tilling and
weeding, and at the same time, reduce competition for nutrition and
space by killing of the weeds. The concept of weeds as competing for
nutrition and space with cultivated crops is the result of monocultures,
where all crops other than the one being "cultivated" is considered a
weed. However, small farmers, such as the farmers in Rajasthan,
traditionally cultivate more than one crop at a time. In fact, in
typical traditional Indian agriculture, there is no concept of weeds.
Plants that are not sown often provide food for humans, cattle, and
finally for the soil as green manure. Many of these plants and their
roots form the most
critical ingredient of food security in the drought-stricken region,
where people stave off famine through consuming these plants.
Often, the supposed weeds are a source of medicine for humans, for
animals and for plants; they also may have pesticidal or other
beneficial properties. Udaipur region in fact, is rich in its naturally
growing medicinal plant diversity used by thousands of traditional
healers for ayurvedic preparations.
The killing of agro-biodiversity by the broad spectrum herbicide will
only wipeout the rich medicinal plants biodiversity but also the fodder
for animals the which has become more scarce due to drought in
Rajasthan. Already hundreds of animals have died in Rajasthan, the
scarcity of fodder will lead to increased starvation and deaths of
animals.
The case of both Bt. cotton and hybrid corn-Roundup sales confirms that
the corporations like Monsanto are not selling farmers' prosperity but
disaster. It is time for an independent assessment of Monsanto's seeds
and products worldwide. Meantime the scientific call for a freeze on
commercial release of any genetically engineered crop must be headed if
poor peasants have to be saved.
For any further information:
Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology (RFSTE)
A - 60, Hauz Khas,
New Delhi - 110016, INDIA
Tel: +91-11-6561868, 6562093,
Fax: +91-11-6856795, 6562093,
Email: rfste@vsnl.com
---
2. Press Release:
Hisar, India, September 25, 2002
** Lokvaani-Hindi Journal Comes Up Opposing GM Crops **
India based voluntary organisation ECO-India
in association with Natural Farming Network
(www.geocities.com/nf_net) has come out with
a unique weekly publication in Hindi named
LOKVAANI (literally meaning -Peoples' Voice) to highlight
the ill effects of GM crops.
Speakng to the journalists in Hisar
(town of the one of the best known
Indian agricultural university which spear headed
the so called green revolution and now
professing gene revolution)
today editor of LOKVAANI Dr Sudhir Kumar Kaura
said that LOKVAANI is first such weekly
journal in Hindi in India which is devoted to the
issues related to GM (genetically modified) crops.
He said that due to political and fiscal interests
state governments and federal governments have surprisingly
favoured the GM crops out of the way bye-passing all the legal
and laid out procedures of bio-safety and field and laboratory
testing. Consequently governments are facing legal trials in
supreme court.
Due to disinterest of vernacular and English
media in farm and farmer issues the real picture
does not come to the farmers and they tend to adopt
anything new coming from the big companies backed by
brain washing through advertisement campaigns,
costing more than average budget of an average
agricultural university in India.
Lokvaani will be giving the international picture
about GM crops in regional language for proper decision
making by the farmers.
The journal will soon be available in English,
Panjabi and other regional languages on the web site:
www.geocities.com/nf_net/lokvaani.html | |
