New Delhi, India
May 11, 2007
Source:
CropBiotech Update
The
Supreme Court of
India has lifted an eight-month temporary ban on field
trials of genetically-modified food crops on 8th May 2007. With
this judgment, farmers will have more choices of Bt cotton
varieties suited for local agro-climatic conditions. The ruling
will also allow resuming the approval of filed trials for
various crops such as brinjal, mustard, rice, maize, potato,
tomato, okra and groundnut.
Referring to the Supreme Court judgment on the field trials of
GM crops, the Union Minister
of State for Environment and Forests, Mr Namo Narayan Meena,
said the entire research activities of the country which have
been at a standstill will get momentum, and that the
Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) will be able
to work speedily. Mr Meena assured the members of the
Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Environment and
Forests (MOEF) that along with treating agricultural
biotechnology as a priority area for investments, priority will
be given to proper risk assessment and to appropriate measures
to mitigate its adverse impacts.
RELATED RELEASE
Source:
Government of India
Union Minister of State for
Environment and Forests, Shri Namo Narayan Meena said
bio-technology will dominate the 21st century just as
information technology dominated the last century. Addressing
the 10th meeting of the Consultative Committee of the Ministry
of Environment and Forests, last night, he informed the meeting
that the stay on
Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) has been
vacated today during judicial hearing. The entire research
activities of the country which was at a standstill, will get
momentum and Genetic Engineering Approval Committee will be able
to work speedily. Shri Meena assured along with treating this
field as a priority area with investments, priority will be
given to proper risk assessment and appropriate measures to
mitigate its adverse impacts.
Before the presentation on living modified organisms- LMOs and
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) , he said in bio-pharma
and bio-seeds industries , the turnover has already crossed a
billion mark and the growth rate is estimated as 40 per cent.
Referring to the approval of transgenic crop Bt cotton and 20
recombinant therapeutic products in India, he said 62 hybrids of
cotton have been approved for commercial cultivation across 9
cotton growing states viz; Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana,
Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu
after reviewing the performance and other criteria.
The area under cotton cultivation has increased from 72,000
acres in 2002 to 93 lakh acres in 2006. Overall production has
gone up to 24.4 million bales in 2005-06 as compared to 15.8
million bales in 2001-02. The productivity has increased from
308 kg. Per hectare to 450 kg. Per hectare during the same
period. The Minister of State added the pesticide usage has also
come down by 2260 MT during 2005-06. Though there has been
overall acceptance of the Bt technology by cotton growing
farmers, the issues and concerns raised are being examined by
the Regulatory Agencies. He said Bt cotton is the first GM crop
in the country, which is making us to pass through learning
phase. Sale of illegal/ spurious seeds insect resistant
management, compliance of conditions etc. are various issues
which will be taken care of by the Ministry.
This Ministry is the Nodal Ministry for implementation of
Cartagena Protocol on Bio-Safety. This is an International
Agreement under Convention of biological diversity. The Ministry
is also implementing a World Bank GEF capacity building project
on bio-safety which includes strengthening the national capacity
for effective legislative frame-work, operational mechanism,
establishing bio-safety data base and supporting a network for
research in the area of risk assessment and monitoring.
The Committee Members appreciated the presentation on Bio-safety
Regulation of Living Modified Organisms as well as Genetically
Modified Organisms in India. They inquired about the Authority,
which will monitor and control Bio-Safety assessments of
Transgenic crops. Welcoming the higher production of Bt cotton,
Members suggested to improve the quality of long staple in
cotton.
Earlier, Members also sought the action taken on the projects
and progress which were discussed during the last Consultative
Committee Meeting. Concluding the Meeting, Shri Meena said that
Bio-technology has the potential for ensuring food security,
decreased pressure on land use, increased crop yields and
reduced use of water and agrochemicals in agriculture. Genetic
engineering offers benefits for agriculture, medical treatments,
new industrial products, improved fibers and fuels, S/shri
Mahaveer Bhagora, Dushyant Singh, Basudeb Barman, from Lok Sabha
and Shri R.Shunmugasundaram from Rajya Sabha attended the
Meeting.
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