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Panel led by Kakodkar to approve GM crops' trial
***Farmer activist Kishor Tiwari feels that the committee is an eyewash. "There is a dichotomy in the government's approach. On the one hand our agriculture minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil is promoting organic farming and on the other chief minister Prithviraj Chavan wants GM crops. Chavan has always been in favour of GM products. Kakodkar has been chosen because he too is in favour of GM crops.
"Bt cotton has been a miserable failure in the state. The government itself admits this indirectly. It has ruined the cotton farmers of west Vidarbha andMarathwada. Now, does it want to ruin the paddy farmers of east Vidarbha and Konkan," an angry Tiwari asked.***
NAGPUR: In a move that will raise hackles of anti-GM (genetically modified) crop activists, state government has set up committee under famous nuclear scientist Anil Kakodkar to advise the government on allowing field trial for a particular GM-variety developed by a company. If this committee clears the crop variety, then its trial would be allowed by the government.
Besides Kakodkar, the ten-member panel comprises vice-chancellors and directors (research) of the four agriculture universities of the state and the agriculture commissioner as the member secretary. Earlier, only central government's nod was required for field trials. However, now no objection certificate (NOC) of the government of state where the trial will be conducted is required. Some states have banned such trials completely.
Agriculture commissioner Umakant Dangat said any company desirous of conducting a field trial of GM crop would have to submit its proposal to agriculture ministry or the commissionerate. The committee would then study the impact of the crop and submit a report to the government. "We will study the possible impact on humans, animals, environment and biodiversity. The physical, social and economic impact would also be assessed. No aspect would be left untouched," Dangat explained.
The commissioner said he would meet Kakodkar on December 3 and the two would prepare a brief for the first meeting of the committee. "We will make experts in biotechnology special invitees," he added.
Earlier, in March 2012, the government had set up an internal committee headed by agriculture commissioner and having the directors (research) of the four agriculture universities as members. There was no procedure for deciding whether field trial should be allowed and the committee was expected to do that. However, later the government realized that GM crops was a complicated issue and hence it expanded the committee and roped in Kakodkar.
Farmer activist Kishor Tiwari feels that the committee is an eyewash. "There is a dichotomy in the government's approach. On the one hand our agriculture minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil is promoting organic farming and on the other chief minister Prithviraj Chavan wants GM crops. Chavan has always been in favour of GM products. Kakodkar has been chosen because he too is in favour of GM crops.
"Bt cotton has been a miserable failure in the state. The government itself admits this indirectly. It has ruined the cotton farmers of west Vidarbha andMarathwada. Now, does it want to ruin the paddy farmers of east Vidarbha and Konkan," an angry Tiwari asked.
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