Farmer body decries GEAC approval of new Bt cotton varieties
04 May '06
1 min read
In the coming season of kharif (summer) eight new varieties of Bt cotton will be sown in North India and 12 new varieties will be grown in Central region as consented by Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC).
GEAC is scheduled to meet next week to allow for new Bt cotton varieties for viable farming in southern India.
On the other hand, Dr Krishan Bir Chaudhary, Executive Chairman of the country's largest farmers' organization Bharat Krishak Samaj said, “Bt cotton has placed farmers into grave losses."
Critising the decision, he called GEAC's new approvals as "rash" and called for GEAC reviews each season rather than deciding every three years.
Under pressure from farmers' groups, the GEAC had to accept failure of Mahyco-Monsanto's Mech-184 Bt, Mech-162 Bt and Mech-12 Bt after three years of its commercial farming.
These varities are now banned for commercial farming in Andhra Pradesh since 2005 and Mech-12 Bt was banned for cultivation in entire Southern India.
Mahyo-Monsanto has not compensated Andhra Pradesh farmers for the losses they have incurred even as of date the new approvals by GEAC attracted adverse remarks from Divya Ragunandan of Greenpeace India.
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