Haryana villagers damage GM rice field

Activists of Bharatiya Kissan Union (BKU) and scores of villagers of Rampura village in Karnal district of Haryana destroyed a genetically modified (GM) rice plot in the state last week.

The objective, according to BKU, was to prevent the GM rice plot from contaminating non-GM rice growing in adjoining plots and to ensure that government guidelines on GM trials are not flouted.

But, the department of biotechnology, which oversees the trials, is not pleased with the burning of an officially approved GM rice field.

The review committee on genetic manipulation (RCGM), which gives permission for preliminary multi-locational trials of GM crops in limited plots of land, says the burning was certainly unwarranted.

"Mahyco which grew the crop for contained field trial had our approval. So it was a legal activity. As for informing farmers, how do you expect every farmer to be told about the various experiments that are being done," asked Member Secretary Dr T V Ramanaiah.

The field was leased out by a farmer to Mahyco under contract farming for a rent of Rs 15,000. Activists of BKU pointed out that neither the farmer nor the panchayat president were told of the trials, as is required under the regulations.

"The way trials are conducted in the country is about playing with the ignorance of the farmers as this case shows. Given the unreliable track record of the company and the regulators in preventing contamination from the trial plots into the supply chain where unwary consumers are eating untested products, we had to ensure that such a thing does not happen from this trial.

This is all the more dangerous in a basmati-rice growing belt of the country. We have now ensured that the DBT guidelines regarding destruction of GM plant material in the trial are not flouted,'' said Rakesh Tikait, spokesperson of Bhartiya Kissan Union.

RCGM, however, said the episode bode ill for science. "Where is science heading in this country, if every experiment is objected to? Unless we conduct trials, how would we know if something is good or bad,'' asked Ramanaiah. On the possible contamination of non-GM basmati, the RCGM has a reply.

"Should we ask all basmati-growing states then to ban all non-basmati strains fearing contamination,'' questioned Ramanaiah, who called the burning of the field an "overreaction".

On the ignorance of farmers on the nature of trials in fields, RCGM authorities said, "University of Hissar is aware of the trials and it is more important that they know it rather than telling hundreds of farmers about things they will not understand.''

The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, the second tier of authority granting permission for GM trials in confined locations, said the crops were being grown with legal permission.

At present, GM rice is grown in eight locations in the country, including Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab.

The information on all trials are is from the department of biotechnology under which the RCGM comes.

The activists of BKU admitted that they got the information on the GM farm in Haryana through Right to Information.