The IMF’s April 2025 Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa presents a clear warning: regional growth is slowing, debt pressures are mounting, and donor assistance is declining. Yet the report outlines critical opportunities particularly in domestic revenue mobilization, structural reform, and private sector activation that can shape a more resilient …
Since the seeds were first sown in their lands four years ago, farmers of Katpur village in Amravati district have been patiently waiting each season for wonders to happen. Nothing of the sort has happened yet. With huge debts taking the lives of many farmers in the district, and even …
Lobbying for and against the GM food peaks in the run up to the final clearanceEven as it appears that brinjal is set to become the first genetically modified (GM) food to be approved for commercial production in India, lobbying against the final nod by the government has reached a …
The French High Biotech Council, in charge of advising the French Government on a wide range of biotech issues and composed of a scientific committee and a socio-economic committee, released its first report defining biotech-free production. The report includes recommendations to label products with "GMO-free" when containing less than 0.1 …
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the wake of the furore over the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) clearance to the genetically modified (GM) Bt Brinjal in the country, the Kerala Biotechnology Commission (KBC) is bringing in experts from various fields to critically evaluate the safety aspects of GM food. A seminar on
K P Prabhakaran Nair Monsanto's larger strategy is to control the entire seed industry in India in 10-15 years. Bt cotton was the first step. Bt brinjal is the second. Before long, it will be Bt rice, Bt maize, and so forth Heat stability studies carried out on the Bt …
New Delhi: In what is bound to raise the bar for the government to clear GM brinjal, the Supreme Court appointed observer on the GEAC has written to the environment ministry that his and two other members
Nov. 4: Four thousand years after it entered the Indian kitchen, the all-time favourite, brinjal or eggplant, may soon shed its traditional flavour. The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) has approved genetically modified or Bt brinjal for human consumption despite protests that adequate tests have not been carried out to …
WHAT, YOU may ask, is common between potatoes, tomatoes, brinjal, chilli, datura, tobacco and the deadly nightshade (belladonna)? They all belong to a plant family called Solanaceae. The Solanaceae family contains a number of important agricultural plants as well as many psychoactive and toxic plants. Solanaceae species are rich in …
Joseph Vackayil : The reported statement of KV Thomas, the minister of state for agriculture, that the agriculture ministry would not blindly oppose any new technology that helped increase food production and ensure food security, has kindled the hopes of Bt brinjal
In India the elongated, deep purple ovoid is considered one of the humblest of vegetables. The Bengalis call it begun which means a vegetable that has no virtue. But now the lowly brinjal has become the eye of the storm that is forcing you to sit up and take notice …
Pushpa M Bhargava The GEAC has put faith in Monsanto, and has accepted what it has said as the gospel truth, in spite of Monsanto's extremely poor record of honesty, integrity and ethics, spanning over decades Larger number of mutations occur on genetic manipulation than in normal plant-breeding. This changes …
Mohan Murti Food is to European culture what free speech is to American culture. There may not always be a good scientific reason for concern, but to consider eating something that has resulted from some laboratory manoeuvring is felt by many Europeans as a kind of refutation of the true …
Genetically-engineered corn, soybeans, and cotton now account for the majority of acres planted to these three crops. A model was developed that utilizes official, U.S. Department of Agriculture pesticide use data to estimate the differences in the average pounds of pesticides applied on GE crop acres, compared to acres planted …
This latest report by Asia-Pacific Consortium on Agricultural Biotechnology provides updated statistics on Bt-cotton and highlights newer issues related to technology, production, economic, social and environmental impacts of Bt cotton in India. The first Status Report on Bt Cotton in India was published in 2006, when 40 Bt hybrids were …
The Union ministry of environment and forest has given the green signal for cultivation of two varieties of genetically modified (GM) brinjal, but scholars here are sceptical. They warned that the impact of GM brinjal on human health is still not clear and it will not be wise to cultivate …
The war over genetically modified foods is entering a new phase. At last, the GM industry has produced what it promised at the outset: a product designed to have real benefits for consumers. It's an oil from soybean modified to produce omega-3 fatty acids essential for health and proven to …
Unlike in Bt cotton, there is no organised lobby of growers to push the case for commercialisation of Bt brinjal, says HARISH DAMODARAN. In March 2002, when Bt cotton was approved for commercial cultivation, there was scant opposition to the Government
