J-235/A, SAINIK FARMS, KHANPUR
NEW DELHI n 110062 (INDIA)
PH : +91 11 29556248; FX :- +91 11 29555961
EMAIL n genecamp@vsnl.com
WEB - http://www.genecampaign.org
Press Release
Contact: DR. SUMAN SAHAI
Phone: - +91 11 29556248; 98-110-41332
Email: genecamp@vsnl.com
28 September, 2005
INDEPENDENT ENQUIRY DEMANDED ON BT COTTON
Gene Campaign said today that the story of Bt
cotton is getting murkier by the day. Dr Kranthi,
a scientist from the prestigious cotton research
institute in Nagpur publishes a paper providing
the scientific data that provides evidence that
Bt cotton is not very effective in India, then
writes an article in a newspaper recanting pretty
much all that he has said in the scientific
publication! Not only does he deny his earlier
findings and assertions, he springs to the
defense of his boss, the DG of ICAR , absolving
him of any responsibility in the questionable
decisions taken to release Bt cotton. If there
has been any pressure on Dr Kranthi to revise his
views as published in Current Science, this must
come out in a careful enquiry. It is highly
unusual for a scientist to present another view
of his data in a newspaper article after
publishing a scientific paper.
Gene Campaign demands a full fledged enquiry on all aspects of Bt cotton.
* Given that there are several contradictory reports on its performance,
* several reports of the failure of the Mahyco- Monsanto MECH Bt cotton
varieties,
* rampant proliferation of illegal varieties to
the extent that spurious Bt seeds
being sold on the market often do not even contain the Bt gene,
* the fact that the burden of expensive and risky Bt cotton is increasing the
misery of farmers already crushed under the burden of debts
* that despite corroborated reports of failure,
Monsanto has refused to pay any
compensation to farmers who have suffered losses and GEAC has not taken
any action in this regard.
Asking for a panel of independent experts
involving a cross section of stakeholders, not
just selected scientists, Gene Campaign director
Dr Suman Sahai said the contradictory situations
that have arisen around Bt cotton must be
investigated thoroughly. A time bound enquiry
process of six months, headed by a respected
scientist must include farmers, consumers,
academicians, scientists and NGOs who should
examine the available information to come up with
a status report on Bt cotton. This must be
presented to Parliament and made widely
available. Farmers and other citizens have the
right to know what exactly is happening with
respect to Bt cotton, who has suffered losses,
what is the efficacy of the technology and take
a decision on whether this technology is good or
not, for the farmers in the longer term.
Dr Suman Sahai said that it is criminal on the
part of the government and regulatory agencies to
continue to pretend that all is well with Bt
cotton, when there is so much evidence that it is
not. It is also shameful that the GEAC continues
to release Bt cotton varieties without taking any
action on the spread of spurious Bt cotton that
is obviously failing and causing immense
suffering to farmers. Nor has GEAC taken up the
question of compensation to those farmers who
have suffered losses, even after the AP govtis
ban on the Mahyco- Monsanto Bt cotton.
The GEAC also needs to explain why it is
promoting Bt cotton as a hybrid in this country
which will result in farmers being forced to buy
fresh seeds every year, when it is known that
true breeding varieties from which farmers can
save seeds for subsequent crops are much more
effective against bollworm that the hybrids (
mentioned also by Kranthi) . China promotes true
breeding varieties , not hybrids therefore the
performance of Bt cotton is far better there than
here.
Kranthi and his group had provided scientific
data in a paper published in Current Science (
July 25, 2005) which explains why Bt cotton
hybrids in India were unstable and unpredictable,
the result of faulty technology in which gene
expression is variable, showing declining levels
of Bt toxin . Bt expression was found to be
lowest in the economically most important part of
the cotton- the boll itself.
The publication said that since Bt cotton does
not provide adequate protection, farmers must use
chemical pesticides to protect their crops. This
is in consonance with the findings of many groups
including Gene Campaign, that the Mahyco-Monsanto
cotton failed to protect against bollworm, that
farmers had to use chemical pesticides, and that
savings on pesticide were therefore not
significant.
Dr. Suman Sahai
This Press Release contained `Bt Cotton : Two
Views Of Kranthi/CICR' in a tabular form - hence
not in a displayable format