Farmers see red in genetically modified rice trial in Karnataka

The police arrested 16 activists of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) for ‘trespassing’ into a field at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra on Wednesday. They were later released.

The farmers were protesting at the KVK, under GKVK, against the multinational seed corporations trying to take control over India’s seed sector.

The farmers under the KRRS tried to stop the field trial of Dupont’s genetically modified (GM) paddy. The organisation said the trial was being conducted without necessary precautions to prevent the GM seeds mixing with and contaminating other varieties used in the area.

“GM rice is a threat not just to the farmer, but to every citizen in the country due to the threat it poses to health and environment. Several scientific studies across the world have confirmed the same,” Dr Venkata Reddy, vice-president, KRRS, said.

Dupont, the second largest seed corporation in the world after Monsanto, is developing GM rice using a transgenic SPT (seed production technology), which basically leads to an increase in large quantities of genetically male-sterile female inbred parent seed. This could then be used for commercial hybrid seed
production, KRRS said in a statement.

The sangha also pointed out that the trial has been violating several norms. “The local panchayat was not informed about the trial, contrary to the existing rules,” a spokesperson said.
He further said, “The locals were not notified about these dangerous experiments in any manner. There was also free access to the trial plot which, in the absence of any warning, could lead to the seeds getting mixed up with the other regular rice varieties and contaminating them in the process.”

The Sangha pointed out that the practise had been banned in  Kerala, where there was no open release, or experiments, of GM rice.

Earlier in the year, Bt Brinjal, the first GM food crop to reach  the stage of commercialisation, was put under an indefinite moratorium by the Union environment ministry.

The KRRS said that seed companies and their promoters in the government have been trying to push for open air experiments of a variety of GM crops including GM rice, and violated basic minimum requirements several times, after the moratorium on Bt Brinjal.

Dr Reddy urged the public sector research institutions in Karnataka to conduct research in favour of the farmer and not for the profit-motivated seed companies.

He also urged the state government to declare Karnataka as a GM-free state and demand the central government to stop such experiments in the state.

Agriculture was a state subject and the state government needed to play an active role in ensuring that citizens of Karnataka were safeguarded from such dangerous experiments, he added.