India needs to focus on implementation of GM regulations

Agroecology and environmental biosafety expert Angelika Hilbeck on Tuesday called for better enforcement of biosafety norms in agriculture.

"It has been my observation that most countries have good regulations, but it is implementation that they usually lack and I don't think India is any different in this regard," said Hilbeck.

She was speaking at a press conference at the Gujarat Vidyapith on the genetically modified crop scenario in India and its implications. When asked about one of the arguments in favour of GM crops that their productivity is better, she said it was because the whole system in place is such that the capacity installed is geared towards fertiliser- intensive crops.

"It is like comparing apples to peaches. When we talk about organic farming, the stress is never on a monocrop. When a farmer grows maize the organic way, he may also be planting squash in the same field. Thus the overall space available for growing maize reduces, reducing the production too. When we compare maize grown organically to one that is part of a monoculture fertiliser-driven farming, what we forget is that the organic farm produced some squash too," said Hilbeck.

On Monsanto's claims about GM crops, Hilbeck said it is foolish to believe that a chemical company will bring a technology that will make its fertilizer and chemical business obsolete.

Kapil Shah of Jatan, an organisation that works to promote organic farming, said that the problem associated with growing GM crops is different from the ones with eating GM food. He was replying to a question on edible oils from GM crops being imported in India.

"It is true that edible oil made from GM oil seeds has been imported in India for some years now and the government is to be blamed for it. The government turned a blind eye to it. It should not have made it to our food system," said Shah.