Yasmeen Mohiuddin Yahoo News 9 Feb 10;
NEW DELHI (AFP) – India refused to grant permission Wednesday for the commercial cultivation of its first genetically modified (GM) food crop, citing problems of public trust and "inadequate" science.
Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said he was imposing a moratorium on the introduction of an aubergine modified with a gene toxic to pests that regularly devastate crops across India.
"It is my duty to adopt a cautious, precautionary, principle-based approach and impose a moratorium on the release," until scientific tests can guarantee the safety of the product, said Ramesh.
However, he added there was still no agreement among scientists on what constitutes "an adequate protocol of tests".
Ramesh said the moratorium was effective immediately and it would last "for as long as it is needed to establish public trust and confidence."
"I cannot go against science but in this case science is inadequate," he added. "I have to be sensitive to public concerns."
Indian regulators had approved the new aubergine back in October and its introduction would have made it the first GM foodstuff to be grown in India.
But the decision roused huge opposition and a broad spectrum of voices, including farmers, environmentalists and politicians of all stripes had urged the government to prevent its cultivation.
Ramesh spent the months since the decision travelling across the country holding public consultations with citizens.
Backers of the genetically modified aubergine said the product would boost yields by up to 50 percent, while reducing dependence on pesticides.
But critics pointed to possible long-term health problems, and warned it would open the doors to a flood of other GM food crops.
Mathura Rai, the Indian scientist who led the group that came up with the modified aubergine, declined to comment directly on the moratorium, but insisted that GM crops had a crucial role to play.
"We need a technology for increasing the quality production of vegetable crops," Rai, head of the Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, told AFP from his headquarters in Varanasi city.
"In certain areas where traditional methods of breeding is not possible to improve the production or productivity, biotechnology can play a vital role," he said.
"So this is the best option for increasing the production of quality aubergine in the country," he added.
The government's decision on Tuesday came at a sensitive time with growing public frustration over soaring food prices, following a particularly poor 2009 monsoon.
But Ramesh said there was "no overriding food security argument" for the introduction of GM aubergines.
He said he had considered the views of different interest groups in making his decision but denied he had been pressured by members of his cabinet or by companies producing genetically modified crops.
"My conscience is clear. This is my decision and my decision alone," he said.
India is one of the largest aubergine producers globally.
The seeds had been developed by local scientists but would have been marketed by an Indian company partly owned by the US multinational Monsanto.
India already allows the use of genetically modified cotton and supporters say it has sharply improved yields.
India Delays GM Vegetable Start For Further Tests
Bappa Majumdar, PlanetArk 9 Feb 10;
"The moratorium will be in place until all tests are carried out to the satisfaction of everyone ... If that means no start of production, so be it," Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh told reporters on Tuesday.
Until the tests are done, the country should build a broad consensus to use GM technology in agriculture in a safe and sustainable manner, he said.
The decision is seen as boosting the Congress party among its main farming vote base, much of which is fearful of GM use, and comes despite pressure from Farm Minister Sharad Pawar who supported introduction of genetically modified "BT Brinjal," or eggplant.
It also signals Congress's leading position within the ruling coalition made up of difficult allies such as Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party. The Congress and Pawar, who also controls the food portfolio, are currently involved in a blame game over rising food prices.
"The Congress has taken one step back in the hope of taking two steps forward later," political commentator Amulya Ganguli told Reuters.
"The government has been sensitive to public opinion and they have defused an upsurge among its farmer voters by this decision. It has more to do with politics, not any scientific reason."
The move also marks a personal victory for Ramesh, a rising reformist minister who played a crucial role in nuancing India's climate change stand and brokering a political accord in the December Copenhagen conference on global warming.
Ramesh conducted public debates across the country to test the support for GM foodcrop. Most of those meetings saw strident opposition to the idea. Most non-Congress-ruled state governments, including the major eggplant-growing areas, were opposed.
"They killed three birds with one shot. They have defused the public sentiment against them, number two is the political opposition was neutralized and three they prevailed over Sharad Pawar," said N. Bhaskara Rao of the Center for Media Studies.
A government panel last year supported introduction of genetically modified eggplant, but the government said it would consult experts and farmers before accepting the recommendations.
"It is my duty to adopt a cautious, precautionary, principle-based approach," Ramesh said.
BLOW TO MONSANTO?
The decision could come as a blow to seed producers such as Monsanto Co looking to enter India's huge market in GM food crops and where the company has substantial investment, including for research and development.
"Very serious fears have been raised in many quarters on the possibility of Monsanto controlling our food chain if (GM eggplant) is approved," Ramesh said.
Advocates of genetically modified crops argue such varieties can easily increase food supply for India's 1.2 billion people and protect farmers as GM crops can withstand adverse weather and increase output significantly.
"Nearly 1.4 million (eggplant) farmers will be deprived from (GM) technology," said Bhagirath Choudhary of the South Asia office of International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), a GM advocacy group.
"This would amount to a net loss of $330 million per year to Indian brinjal farmers."
But opponents say GM seeds can be a hazard for the environment and public health, and must be tested thoroughly before they are commercially used.
India allowed the use of genetically modified seeds for cotton in 2002, and crop productivity has increased sharply as it is now grown in 80 percent of India's cotton area.
(Editing by Krittivas Mukherjee and Jerry Norton)
India defers first GM food crop
BBC News 9 Feb 10;
India has deferred the commercial cultivation of what would have been its first genetically modified (GM) vegetable crop due to safety concerns.
Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said more studies were needed to ensure genetically modified aubergines were safe for consumers and the environment.
The GM vegetable has undergone field trials since 2008 and received approval from government scientists in 2009.
But there has been a heated public row over the cultivation of the GM crop.
The BBC's Geeta Pandey, who was at the news conference in Delhi, says Mr Ramesh's decision has put any cultivation of GM vegetables in India on hold indefinitely.
'Difficult decision'
"Public sentiment is negative. It is my duty to adopt a cautious, precautionary, principle-based approach," Mr Ramesh said.
He said the moratorium on growing BT brinjal - as the variety of aubergine is known in India - would remain in place until tests were carried out "to the satisfaction of both the public and professionals".
The minister said "independent scientific studies" were needed to establish "the safety of the product from the point of view of its long-term impact on human health and environment".
Mr Ramesh said it was "a difficult decision to make" since he had to "balance science and society".
"The decision is responsible to science and responsive to society," he said.
India is the largest producer of aubergines in the world and grows more than 4,000 varieties.
