Maharashtra Govt. take final call to Ban Mahyco-Monsanto Bt.cotton seed

Maharashtra Govt. take final call to Ban Mahyco-Monsanto Bt.cotton seed

Nagpur -09 August , 2012

The Director of Inputs and Quality Control (DIQC), the licensing authority in Mahrashtra has in it’s final order yesterday banned  Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (MMB) notice under the provisions of the Maharashtra Cotton Act, 2009 and now all trade activities of Mahyco Monsanto Biotech are illegal and if any violation of Govt. orders there be criminal stern action against  all Myhyco Monsantro , The Director of Inputs and Quality Control (DIQC) Dr.Sudam Adsule announced in pune today.

“if company challenges the order we have already moved in Mumbai and Aurangabad high court benches and filed cavet and we have given fair chance to company and all charges of unfair trade practices proved and hence under existing cotton seed act we have taken action  and it can’t be revoked ” Dr.Sudam Adsule added

“we welcome the decision as Bt.cotton seed has been better seed and played key role in vidarbha farm suicide saga since June 2005 andwe demand all other 28 companies sub-lised by MMB should be ban and replaced by traditional Indian cotton seed as the cost of seeds of straight varieties is much lower than Bt varieties, besides which these varieties become ready for plucking in just 150-160 days whereas BT varieties take around 180-200 days, which reduces the need for fertilizers, pesticides and other nutrients substantially and unlike Bt cotton desi varieties there is no need to provide in-built protection for cotton against destructive American Bollworm Heliothis which is not the case with desi seed’’ Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti chief Kishore Tiwari informed today.

Earlier last month Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Radhakrishnna Vikhe Patil has informed Maharashtra legislative assembly yesterday which reported in the media today(copy attached)  that the basis of  number complaints from cotton farmers and reports of agricultures officers that Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (MMB) company has been cheating the innocent cotton farmers by supplying sub-standard seeds ,Involved in black-marketing of seed by creating official short supply and ignoring earlier notices of all unfair trade practices ,Govt. has ban sale of Bt.cotton supplied by Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (MMB) as company failed to supply good quality seed even after taking huge amount of advances from debt trapped dying cotton farmers Maharashtra ,minister informed house.

Now India is largest cotton cultivator of Bt.cotton seed in 126 lakhs hector  jumped from 4 lakhs hector when first it was approved for commercialization in India in 2002, followed by Bollgard® II – double-gene technology in mid-2006, by the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), the Indian regulatory body for biotech crops which has was objected by leading environmental activist and now questioned by Indian parliament . the much more disputed genetic technology Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Bollgard® II contains a superior double-gene technology - Cry1Ac and Cry 2Ab which provides protection against bollworms but is matter of concern due to it’s toxicity damaging environment and public health care hence we demand complete ban on GM technology in India, Tiwari urged.