The confirmation that genetically modified (GM) brinjals were being grown by a farmer in Haryana has both activists who support the technology, as well as those who are opposed to it, squarely blaming the government for its inaction.
The Coalition for GM-Free India has asked how the government regulatory machinery, specifically the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), allowed the farmer to access the seedlings. “Whether the seeds have escaped from some private seed bank in India or whether they have entered through the border, the question is the same. What is the regulatory machinery doing to prevent this from happening,'' asked Rajinder Chaudhary of the coalition. He pointed out that the farmer, identified as Jeevan Saini, procured the seedlings last year from a supplier in a surreptitious manner. “The supplier did not let him visit the nursery, but came with the consignment to the Dabwali bus stand. He planted the seedlings on a half-acre plot and has been supplying the vegetables to the market for the second season, now,'' Chaudhary said. The brinjal plant typically fruits for two years.
The coalition has demanded that the standing crop in the field be destroyed and the government compensates the farmer for his loss. “The farmer should not be penalised. Action should be against the supplier,'' they said. Activists are worried that while Saini has been caught, there may be several others who are cultivating genetically modified brinjal crop.
The activists oppose the technology for a host of reasons, ranging from the high cost involved in cultivation which would lead to agrarian distress, to the possible adverse health effects it could have on consumers in the long run.
Meanwhile, many in the scientific community feel such an incident was just waiting to happen because the government, for political reasons, was sitting on a technology that had been cleared at all scientific levels. The moratorium on genetically modified brinjal was imposed in 2010 by the then Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh. It was hoped that a change of government would clear this political bottleneck, but the NDA government too did not take any action.
The GM brinjal in India was developed by the seed firm Mahyco, which introduced a tiny gene, from the bacterium bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Thus the name, Bt brinjal. This gene rids the plant of the deadly fruit and shoot borer—a pest that destroys a major portion of the yield. The technology, which was ready for the market, was cleared by the GEAC. However, the government imposed a moratorium, and Mahyco was left with several hundred kilos of seed it had developed.
Mahyco later gave the technology to Bangladesh and the Philippines. The crop is grown in both the countries.
D. Pental, who was instrumental in developing the GM mustard, says the moratorium has been a very negative development. It has not just suppressed a necessary technology, but has also led to a clandestine market, which is more dangerous as it is unregulated. “It is high time the country makes up its mind. The decision should be taken not on political factors but based on appraisals and bio safety analysis,'' said Pental.
He pointed out that while growing genetically modified food crops was banned in India, there was enough of it in the food chain. Canola oil, made from rapeseed, and soybean oil, are both extracted from imported seeds, which are produced from GM crops. In India, GM cotton has been allowed for cultivation as it is a cash crop. Cottonseed oil, extracted from these plants, too is being consumed in Gujarat and Maharashtra.
“Farmers want crops with high yield and resistance to diseases. If they get such seedlings, they will certainly opt for them,'' said Pental. The GM mustard that was developed in Delhi University, for instance, was to make highly productive hybrids. “But then, someone said it would affect the bees who feed on them, and the moratorium was slapped. It is another thing that in Canada, where GM crops are allowed, there has been no impact on honeybees, according to studies,'' he said.
Activists stumbled into Sainis' field, looking for healthy crops. It all began with some conversation at a local nursery where a customer inquired whether he would get seedlings that would not fall prey to disease. The nursery owner said he didn't have such plants, but one particular farmer was indeed having a good, pest-free harvest. Saini allegedly bought the seedlings at Rs 8 apiece, which is ten times higher than the regular rate of 50 to 80 paisa per seedling. He reportedly did not buy a second consignment this year because he was not convinced the supplier was selling the same quality seedlings again. These are all classical symptoms of a clandestine market. In a regulated one, not only would the prices be controlled, but there would also be an assurance on quality.
Mahyco, incidentally, is not the only company which was developing Bt Brinjal, though their product had gone up to the GEAC for clearance. The National Research Centre on Plant Biotechnology had developed Bt Brinjal varieties and transferred the technology to Bejo Sheetal, Vibha Agrotech, Nath Seeds and Krishidhan Seeds. Indian Institute of Horticultural Research was also developing such crops.
It has been confirmed that the samples seized from Saini's fields were genetically modified, but an official announcement about the particular seedling is yet to be made.
In the West, opinion is divided on the safety of GM crops. While the US and Canada have embraced the technology, most of Europe hasn't. But unlike India, where there is neither decision nor control, the European market is strictly regulated to ensure that neither such crops enter the fields, nor GM foods in the supermarket.