Stop trials of GM crops, say Indian farmers unions

Wednesday, 24 October 2012 01:07 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

HYDERABAD: Several farmers’ leaders in Andhra Pradesh have asked the state government not to allow GM (genetically modified) crop trials. Representatives of an all-party farmers unions have met Agriculture Minister Kanna Lakshminarayana on Sunday evening and requested him not to give permission for the GM field trials in the State.

“You should consider giving permission only after a holistic study,” the farmers’ leaders had said.

“They also asked the minister not to give permission for GM trials at all in food crops. The minister assured them that the government would take a decision only after discussing the issue with all stakeholders,” an official of the Agriculture Ministry said.

Meanwhile, the government had decided to go for a probe into the reported incidence of sucking pest attack on Bt cotton crop in some parts of the state.

The agriculture minister had issued fresh instructions to the officials of Department of Agriculture to order a thorough investigation into the reports.

“The Minister felt that a detailed probe is necessary as biotechnology in cotton has completed a decade in the country,” he said. The Minister also alluded to the issue of non-compliance of refuge norm.

(The cotton farmers are advised to sow non-Bt cotton or redgram crops around the Bt crop. This is to reduce the time for the pest to develop resistance to the technology).

“It is very important to follow this norm. We should tell the farmers on the steps they should follow before the next kharif season begins,” the Minister was quoted as saying.