In this paper, assess the impacts of genetically modified eggplant, Bt brinjal, on economic and health outcomes in Bangladesh using a cluster randomized controlled design. Bt brinjal cultivation reduces the cost of pesticide use by 47 percent. This is driven by reductions in the use of pesticides with adverse ecological …
The mechanism to regulate genetic engineering in agriculture is “generally sound”, the Prime Minister’s Scientific Advisory Committee has said. It has, however, lamented the dearth of “science-informed, evidence-based approach” in the debate on the subject. “The members of the SAC are concerned that a science-informed, evidence-based approach is lacking in …
Strongly favouring GM crops, India’s top science advisory panel on Tuesday virtually questioned the moratorium on commercialisation of Bt brinjal and pitched for comprehensive reform of the biotechnology regulatory mechanism. “The current regulatory system for recombinant products administered under Rules (1989) of Environment Protection Act, 1986, should be reformed till …
National Biodiversity Authority chairman Dr Balakrishna Pisupati said the abundant biodiversity of India exists to be shared with public and private scientific research organisations, both inland and abroad. Speaking on the sidelines of the MoP-6, Dr Pisupati said, “While we agree that there has been unregulated use of our plants …
Pending ratification of the Nagoya Supplementary Protocol, non-government organisations (NGOs) are demanding that the Indian government enact a domestic legislation for liabilities and redress of living-modified organisms (LMOs). The Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on liability and redress to the Cartagena Protocol on biosafety closed for signature in March 2012 with …
New Delhi Scientists, farmer bodies and industry associations alike have slammed the parliamentary panel on agriculture for suggesting a probe into the go-ahead for commercial cultivation of Bt brinjal, India's first genetically-modified food crop. They have also criticised its recommendation for a ban on the field trials of such crops,terming …
The Coalition for a GM-Free India has called for immediate implementation of the recommendation of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture to stop all field trials of genetically modified crops. Welcoming the report of the committee and terming it a historic and well-grounded document, the coalition said that the government …
‘Probe how Bt brinjal seed was allowed to be commercialised’ In a major setback to the proponents of genetically modified technology in farm crops, the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture on Thursday asked the government to stop all field trials and sought a bar on GM food crops (such as Bt. …
A Parliamentary panel Thursday recommended a thorough probe into the controversy surrounding the approval given to Bt Brinjal and its subsequent withdrawal, saying it had found indications that the industry, a minister and the regulator for genetically engineered substances had colluded to push it in India. The Genetic Engineering Approval …
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture has come down heavily against the use of genetically modified (GM) crops in the country. The Committee, which took almost three years to complete its report on the controversial issue, concluded that GM crops, particularly Bt cotton, had not helped farmers. The Committee, headed …
This exhaustive report by the Parliamentary standing committee on agriculture looks critically at various aspects of the impact of GM crops on health and environment & says that these were overlooked while giving a go-ahead for Bt Brinjal trials in India. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture tabled its exhaustive …
Now, consumers can make ‘informed choice’ on buying packaged food products Consumers in India can now make “informed choice” on whether they want to buy packaged food products that are genetically modified or contain genetically modified ingredients. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, in an extraordinary gazette notification, has made an …
New Delhi Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh has criticised the government for its ‘failure’ to invest in public sector-initiated biotech research in agriculture, even as he stressed the need for scientific validation of the impact of Bt cotton on the sector. “There are serious scientific issues raised by responsible scientists …
Aren’t critics of genetically engineered food anti-science? Isn’t the debate over GMOs (genetically modified organisms) a spat between emotional but ignorant activists on one hand and rational GM-supporting scientists on the other? A new report released , “GMO Myths and Truths,” challenges these claims. The report presents a large body …
The paper The Status and Impact of Biosafety Regulation in Developing Economies since Ratification of the Cartagena Protocol explores how the Cartagena Protocol to the convention on Biological Diversity, as well as other important drivers, have affected the regulation of genetically engineered (GE) crops in developing countries. It examines the …
The controversy surrounding Bt brinjal, the first genetically modified food crop developed in India, has turned murkier with the National Biodiversity Authority planning to launch prosecution against a seed company for alleged bio-piracy. The National Bio-diversity Authority, which regulates matters pertaining to biodiversity protection, conservation and use in India, will …
Genetically Modified (GM) seeds are the need of the hour to bolster farm production in the face of rising demand, and a way to match productivity of countries such as China and Vietnam, according to food scientists and experts here. With GM crops seen with suspicion by most, the scientists …
‘Spread of the Bt gene could make brinjal a problematic weed' An independent enquiry has revealed that the cultivation of genetically engineered (GE, also called genetically modified, or GM) Bt brinjal poses risks to the environment and possibly to human health. The occurrence of wild, weedy and also cultivated relatives …
Brinjal (also called eggplant or talong) is a popular vegetable in South and Southeast Asia. However, the cultivation of genetically engineered (GE, also called genetically modified, or GM) Bt brinjal poses risks to the environment and possibly to human health. The occurrence of wild, weedy and also cultivated relatives presents …
CACP’s chairman on why Indian agriculture is trapped in a cycle of mediocre growth and low productivity. The 11th five-year plan is in its closing stages. And for the third consecutive Plan period, agriculture looks like it will miss the targeted 4 per cent growth by a long shot. Even …
The prime minister’s recent comments to the journal Science on the foreign funding of Indian NGOs and the deportation of a German national, Sonntag Reiner Hermann, has generated much heat, with newspaper reports feeding further analysis and comment. Let us first consider the prime minister’s remarks. His full answer, in …
