Vidarbha farmers welcome parliamentary panel report on Bt cotton

10 August, 2012

A parliamentary panel headed by MP Basudeb Acharia, who visited agrarian crisis and farm suicide capital of India, Vidarbha, has truly represented the sentiments of Vidarbha, and reasons economic collapse resulting in acute distress and debt forcing more than 10,000 Bt. cotton farmers suicides.

THE PANEL has recommended study of socio-economic and health impact of Bt. cotton seed and complete probe into the issue of Bt Brinjal, saying that adequate tests had not been carried out and the approval committee was under "tremendous pressure" from the "Industry and a Minister" to approve it.

Three million distressed Vidarbha cotton farmers are today happy that their pain and focus of agrarian crisis has been truly reflected in the parliamentary panel report which was missing in all earlier fact finding committees and even prime minister relief packages.

We are indebted to MP Basudeb Acharia and all other 31 MPs who have across party line endorsed the truth.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture's report on GM crops is a historic, comprehensive and well-grounded document and has thrown light on the agrarian crisis in India, and the latter is a matter of concern of law makers and policy promoters not MNC base technology promoting scientific community involved in blind promotion of the technology is unscientific to say the least as parliament Committee have criticized the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation for having failed to discharge its mandated responsibilities, in so far as the introduction of transgenic agricultural crops in India is concerned, as a policy matter.

They ignored the farmers' profile in India i.e. 70% of them being small and marginal ones, levels of mechanization, non-availability of irrigation facilities, the cost-benefit analysis, the uncertainty of yield, loss to biodiversity, etc. They have, therefore, recommended an in depth probe to track the decision making involved in commercial release of Bt. cotton including how Bt. cotton became a priority when the avowed goal of introduction of transgenic in agricultural crops was to ensure and maintain food security.