Agriculture is a State subject, yet the State of Odisha does not seem to have any control over the cultivation of the banned crops like Bt cotton. The poor agriculturists are ruined by raising the genetically modified (GM) or Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt) crops which they do after having secret deals with middlemen and traders.
The genetically modified seeds or crops, which are artificially promoted other than the natural ones by certain money hunting international companies not only pollute the ecological process, but also drive the farmers to the brink. Every species either animal or plant has been created by the nature in a given climatic system but the GM species is manufactured or created over night by certain bio-tech scientists with commercial motto to capture the agro market with an ulterior motive. The writer has basic knowledge on forestry who dealt with the lives of plants and animals for the whole of his service career as an official in Sate Forest department. The study on plants and animals in nature and that the one in laboratory are quite different.
The gene modification of species either of plants and animal is a recent phenomenon and has been experimented on a few species. Two types of hybrid seeds and plants are available in the market and the edible fruits of such plants are marketed for daily use of the people. The first type, partially approved by the nature, is cross pollination of flowers between two different species of the same family. The cross breeding between higher and lower species to obtain a new species is quite opposite to father and mother; which means breeding of animals or plants using parents of quite different races, varieties, breeds etc; and the off springs produced by such breeding is known as hybrid. Now, we are getting different types of brinjal, tomato, rice, maize and wheat etc in the market for our daily consumptions. Our digestive systems are slowly coping with the newly invented species or races or varieties; but the long term effects of such varieties on animal health, including man, is not known generally. The fruits or vegetables of hybrid types are in less demand as compared to natural products from the nature. In case of animals, the cross breeding of horse and donkey produces mule, a different variety or race of animal. Similarly, cross breeding of tiger and lioness produces completely a new race in captive conditions. But gene modification, which is another type of hybridization, is very dangerous.
Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar rightly has attracted the notice of Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi to overrule the decision of the Government panel for cultivation of genetically modified species like mustard seed in his State which is feared to have ill effects on human health. India is a federal system where every State has its independent voice. The directions of the technical panel of the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee of the Central Government cannot be imposed upon any State. The argument of Nitis Kumar is that not only GM mustard, there are other food species like rice, maize, brinjal, wheat, tomato etc which could also be enforced upon the States for cultivation. Nitis Kumar is quite just that the GM mustard, a “herbicide tolerant” crop, will have adverse effect on local ecology. He protested it on the ground that when the interested parties failed to win the confidence of the farmers of the country, they pushed the technology through public institutions.
Similarly, Bt cotton has been clandestinely promoted in last 15 years, despite its adverse ecological effects. The farmers were ruined by cultivating Bt cotton as Bollworm, a new cotton pest, usually occurs in the Bt cotton crops, which is the species cannot withstand leading to crop loss. In spite of its ill-effects, the Government of India is insisting on cultivation of Bt cotton. The Indo-Gangetic plain is the largest producer of mustard and other crops. The entire country will suffer if the eco system of the plain is affected due to promotion of GM crops.
Similarly, the Kerala Government has raised deep concern over the issue for permitting commercial cultivation of GM mustard in its soil. Kerala wants a total ban of genetically modified crops in the country. There must be a debate country wide on the issue and particularly on the points of potential impact of GM crops on agriculture, environment, farmers, food chain and biological diversities.
The Supreme Court on October 7 stayed the commercial release of GM mustard seed for ten days and asked the Centre to seek public opinion before releasing the seed for cultivation.
(The writer is a former senior forest officer and an environmentalist. Tel no 9937460649)