Letter to Chief Minister, Orissa on the Bt Cotton issue & Press Release.

[Guest guest]

To

The Hon'ble Chief Minister, Orissa

Chief Ministers Office,

State Secretariat,

Sachivalaya Marg,

Bhubaneswar.

 

 

DT:01.05.08

 

 

Respected Sir,

 

 

We are in receipt of the minutes of the 83rdmeeting of the Genetic Engineering

Approval Committee (GEAC), held on the 2ndof April 2008 at the Office of the

Ministry of Environment & Forest (MoEF)under the Chairmanship of Shri B R

Prasheera, Additional Secretary, MoEF,and Chairman GEAC. A copy of the same is

attached for your kind perusal.

Paragraph 4.1.12 of the said document states, " ….Orissa State can be included

in the CentralZone for commercialization of Bt Cotton after completion of

appropriate testingand evaluation procedures. "

 

 

As per Memo no: 1687/ 09.08.2006 issued by youroffice, it was clearly stated

that, " Bt Cotton cultivation in the State ofOrissa shouldbe discouraged " . The

State Agriculture Minister has assured in the floorof the Assembly on 22nd June

2007 that " I will not allow theentry of GM crops into Orissa " . Your views are

reflected and appreciatedby the farmers, social activists, intellectuals and

academicians of the Statewho have voiced their displeasure after coming to know

of the various hazardsassociated with this imprecise technology. However your

sincere efforts toimprove the lot of the farmers, ensure food safety and

sovereignty and preservethe rich biodiversity of Orissa has been callously

disregarded by the GEAC.

 

 

In a move very similar to your concernedefforts, the State Government of Kerala

has written to the CentralAgriculture ministry asking that Kerala be kept

GM-Free. The Kerala StateBiodiversity Board has also resolved to demand for a

ban of the release ofGM crops into the environment and GM foods into the market

to protect thehealth, agriculture and biodiversity of the nation. This was

declared at a twoday National Seminar convened by the Kerala State Biodiversity

Board on 10 and11 April 2008 at Trivandrumon GM crops & Biodiversity

Conservation, attended by more than 150delegates consisting of representatives

of different State Biodiversity Boards,farmers and farmer organizations,

agricultural scientists, educationists,students, consumer organizations,

industry and civil society organizations.

 

 

Interestingly Dr Pushpa M Bhargava, ViceChairman, Knowledge Commission, and one

of the experts appointed by the SupremeCourt to supervise the biosafety protocol

of the GEAC, has aired his misgivingsabout the technology. Paragraph 4.1.6

states, " Dr

Bhargava, in his opening statement informed, he would not be able to support

release of GM crops for commercialization or field trials without examining the

biosafety data and other available alternatives. "

 

 

Paragraph 8.5.2 (1.0) of the same document pointsout that, " Dr. Bhargava

requested for some timeto detail out his concerns related to release of GM crops

in the environment.He opined that agriculture security of India is utmost

important andtherefore, it is necessary to consider alternatives before taking a

decision ona need for GM crop. He indicated that the risk associated with GM

crop includegene flow issues, marker gene, experimental errors, impact on useful

insectmicro-flora, change in surface properties of soil, reproductive

interference,question of second side change and its mapping, selective

transcription/translation, change in nature of protein itself, change in

metabolic balance,development of resistance, increased requirement of refugia,

emergence of superweeds, phenotypic changes, toxicity of GM crops especially in

human gut,pliotropic effect, tolerance to physical factors and transfer of

organisms toanother country "

 

 

The Indian experiencewith Bt Cotton in the States of Maharashtra, Gujarat,

Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana has only reinforced the apprehensionsvoiced

by the scientists that there would be problems with toxicity, insectresistance,

emergence of new pests, contamination and also adverse effects onthe ecology.

Further the high cost of Bt Cotton seeds coupled with erraticyield and high cost

of pesticides have forced farmers in the cotton belt tocommit suicide. The loss

of cattle and adverse effect on human health has alsobeen observed and

documented.

 

 

Bt cotton trials and

also cultivation has been going on in Orissa without the permission of the GEAC

nor even the State Govt.

 

 

We had hoped that the

comments of your Office as well as the statement of the Hon'ble Minister for

Agriculture would have a sobering effect on the GEAC. But to our utter surprise

the GEAC has preferred to overlook the protest of the State and also the bitter

experience in other States and given the go ahead for the commercial

cultivation of Bt Cotton. Considering that the GEAC is also involved with Multi

Location Restricted Trials (MLRT) of Bt Brinjal, Bt Okra and GM Rice, we are

extremely worried about the emerging scenario.

 

 

We would therefore

request your good self to kindly oppose this move of the GEAC to impose GM

crops in Orissa without a proper debate and in absence of adequate biosafety

data and keep your commitment towards keeping Orissa GM free. Wealso request you

to kindly make our State's position clar to the CentralAgriculture Minister as

well as to the Genetic Engineering approval Committeeso as to maintain our

GE-Free advantage. Your action will remove the dark clouds gathering over the

future of small and marginalized farmers of the State, protect their lives and

livelihood, and also help in preserving the rich biodiversity of Orissa. The

consumers too will be spared a highly toxic diet.

 

Thanking you,

 

Respectfully yours,

 

 

For Coalition For GM Free Orissa.

Prof Radhamohan,Retired State Information Commissioner,

Sri Natabara Sarangi, -

Organic Farmer,

Sri Bibhudendra Prasad

Das - Ex-MLA, President Orissa Krushak Mahasangha,

Sri Biswajit Mohanty,Noted Environmentalist,

Sri Asit Mohanty,

Farmers Union Leader,

Prof B K Nayak - Utkal University,

Prof Shambu Prasad,Associate Professor, XIM, Bhubaneswar,

Sri Bharat BhushanThakur, Secretary, Jana Kalyan Sanstha, Bhawanipatna,

Sri Sudhir Pattnaik,Writer & Social Activist

Sri Sudarshan Das,Secretary, Human Development Foundation,Bhubaneswar,

Sri Ratnakar Sahu,Organic Farmer, Patnagarh , Bolangir,

Simanchal Nayak, Rishikulya Ryot Mahasabha, ,Ganjam,

Sri Siba Prasad Sahu, Ahimsa Club, Bargarh,

Sri Debjeet Sarangi,Living Farms , Bhubaneswar,

Sri Jagannath Chatterjee, Social Activist,Member, Coalition for GM Free India.

---

 

 

 

State Coalition for GM Free Orissa,

Plot no: 1181/2146,

Ratnakar Bag – 2,

Tankapani Road,

Bhubaneswar.

 

DT: 01.05.08

 

PRESS RELEASE

SUB: GEAC PERMISSION TO ALLOW BT COTTON CULTIVATION IN ORISSA.

 

Bhubaneswar: The 83rd Meeting of the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee held

on the 2ndApril'2008, arbitrarily decided to allow Bt Cotton cultivation

inOrissa. This is despite the stance of the Government of Orissa not toallow GM

crops into the State. However despite the protests anddemonstrations against Bt

Cotton held at Bhubaneswar on 7th & 8thof April, the State Government is yet to

take a definite stance on theissue.. It was therefore decided by the State

Coalition for GM FreeOrissa to write to the Hon'ble Chief Minister informing him

about thedecision of the GEAC and reminding him of his assurance to the peopleof

the State.

 

The protests by farmers are still on. The Coalition continues to receive

signatures from farmers who oppose the move. On the 7thof April the Coalition

had presented 30,000 signatures received fromfarmers before the media during a

Press Conference held at Bhubaneswar.An online signature campaign has elicited

501 signatures from Orissaand beyond criticizing the move to introduce Bt Cotton

into the Statedespite the tragic consequences in the States of Maharashtra,

Gujarat,Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana. Other organisations have heldmassive

demonstrations involving tribals and farmers both protesting BtCotton and

showcasing the rich biodiversity of the State of Orissa.

 

 

Along with the letter addressed to the

Hon'ble Chief Minister and the results of the online petition we are

also attaching a map showing the spurt in cotton cultivation under

contract farming arrangement in the State. This is at the expense of

land under food grain cultivation, mostly upland paddy and millets

..Worldwide we are observing a growing food crisis which is threatening

to snow ball into a major popular uprising. It has been acknowledged

that conversion of food growing land into other uses including the

promotion of cash crops (like cotton) and plantations for biofuels is

directly responsible for the rising prices and erratic supply of food.

We are observing the same scenario in Orissa.

 

The Coalition warns that contract

farming that has resulted in cotton cultivation shifting from the

traditional cotton belt of Kalahandi and Nuapada, has larger

implications on food security of the people not only because of the

shift to non food crops but loss of work to labor due to use of

chemicals and machinery. This also opens up the door to Bt Cotton as

has been observed in the State of Andhra Pradesh.

 

Yours faithfully,

 

For State Coalition for GM Free Orissa,

 

Debjeet Sarangi.

Member.

 

Attached: 1. Mail to Hon'ble Chief Minister, Orissa,

2. 501 signatures in response to online petition.

3. Map showing growth in cotton cultivation in Orissa.

 

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