Hyderabad:
Even as the country is debating whether or not to allow genetically modified Bt brinjal in the country, health risks being the main focus, another big danger is lurking - that Indian farmers may lose control on their seeds, with monopolistic Multi National Companies (MNCs) coming in.
Some say that could become a threat to India's food sovereignty itself.
The Andhra Pradesh government calls genetically modified Bt cotton a success story, but has written to the Centre seeking a moratorium on Bt brinjal.
"We supported Bt cotton because we were totally convinced. But we are not at all convinced about Bt brinjal for many reasons," said Andhra Pradesh Agriculture Minister Raghuveera Reddy.
The support has reflected in the area under Bt cotton growing from about six per cent of total cotton crop area in 2004-2005, to 39 per cent in 2007, to more than 80 per cent this year. Activists say that's also because the farmer has been left with no option because non-Bt cottonseeds have disappeared from the market.
"Hardly 2-3 varieties are available in the market and even for this there is no access for farmers to get non-Bt seeds. In next 1-2 years, the rest 20 per cent will also disappear and the all cotton farmers will be at the mercy of the Multi National Companies (MNCs)," said A Bhavani Prasad, from Kisan Service Organisation.
What this means is that the farmer will have no control on the seed and he will have to buy every season from the seed company. And costs spiral.
Cottonseeds, which cost Rs 40-50 for a packet, became Rs 450 for a hybrid variety and Rs 1850 for a Genetically Modified (GM) version. The Andhra government went to a Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP) court to bring the price down to about Rs 800.
The production, distribution and control of seeds are regulated by a Seeds Act of 1966 that makes no mention of genetically modified seeds. This means there is virtually no legal framework to monitor the activities of MNCs that function like monopolies in dealing with GM seeds.