Bt Cotton Banned in India State of Andhra Pradesh

From <gaia@gaianet.org May 11, 2005

Dear Friends and Colleagues, The comprehensive failure of Monsanto's Bt cotton in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh was so well documented that eventually even the Genetic Engineering Approvals Committee (GEAC) decided not to renew the licence for 3 varieties in the state... However, for some reason the varieties are still allowed to be grown in other states.

The failure of Bt cotton was well documented by many NGOs such as the Deccan Development Society, Andhra Pradesh Coalition in Defence of Diversity, Centre for Sustainable Agriculture and Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology. In addition, the Bt cotton failure was documented by the Andhra Pradesh government, who supported farmers¹ demands for compensation for failed crops from Mahyco-Monsanto.

Farmers and activists campaigned hard for the approvals to be denied this year, and were rewarded for their hard work. But now the challenge is to ensure that the stocks of the illegal seed that had already entered the state are removed, and do not still accidentally enter the seed supply.

Best wishes, Teresa

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1. NGOs Hail Ban on Monsanto Seeds
Article from Indo-Asian News Service. Date: 6 May 2005 http://www.keralanext.com/news/index.asp?id=200755&pg=1 <http://www.keralanext.com/ news/index.asp?id=200755&amp;pg=1
2. Farmers' Bodies, NGOs Want GEAC to Ask State Governments to Step in to Seize Illegal Biotech Cotton Seeds
Article from the Financial Express, India. Date: 9 May 2005 http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=90370 Ashok B Sharma 3.Comments from PV Satheesh
Date: 3 May 2005
4. 'AP Cotton Growers Compensation Claim for Crop Loss Justified'. Bt
Cotton Prone to Diseases: Study
Article from Financial Express. Date: 1 May 2005
Ashok B Sharma
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=89717
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1. NGOs Hail Ban on Monsanto Seeds

Article from Indo-Asian News Service. Date: 6 May 2005 http://www.keralanext.com/news/index.asp?id=200755&pg=1 <http://www.keralanext.com/news/index.asp?id=200755&amp;pg=1

India's decision to reject multinational giant Mahyco Monsanto's plea to continue selling three transgenic cotton hybrids in Andhra Pradesh has been appreciated by NGOs, who have been waging a relentless battle against Bt cotton seeds.

The Deccan Development Society and the AP Coalition in Defence of
Diversity, which have been fighting against genetically modified (GM) crops, have said the state government must now ensure that the banned seed stocks are not diverted to the clandestine market.

The groups said the decision of the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) of the central government was great news for those working with small and marginal farmers and on issues of ecological agriculture.

GEAC, the government's apex body on genetically modified crops, had on May 3 rejected the plea of Monsanto and its Indian partner Mahyco to allow commercial cultivation of three Bt hybrids--- MECH 12, MECH 184 and MECH 162.

The hybrids, infused with a bacterial gene to make the crop resistant to the dreaded pest bollworm, were first introduced in Andhra Pradesh and few other states three years ago.

However, the GEAC refused to allow further sale following campaign by NGOs and the performance report sent by the state government.

The NGOs in Andhra Pradesh ran an intense campaign in hundreds of villages involving posters, film shows, discussions with farmers and an independent scientific study that tracked farmers experience with Bt cotton. "We in the AP Coalition in Defence of Diversity and the Deccan Development Society sincerely believe that we had a major share in shaping this decision of the GEAC through our work in discovering the truth behind Bt cotton," said P.V. Satheesh of the Deccan Development Society.

The NGOs also expressed apprehension about the viability of two new hybrid varieties of Bt cotton seeds allowed by the government in view of the past experience with other varieties.

The GEAC has permitted Mahyco Monsanto to release two new varieties of Bt cotton seeds called MRC-6322 Bt and MRC-6918 Bt.

Activists are demanding that the government instruct Mahyco Monsanto to make available to people the contents and performance of the two
varieties. "The companies should also disclose the sites of their field trials and the farmers involved in it so that independent scientists can visit the field trial sites and verify the truth for themselves," said Satheesh.

Studies have shown that farmers who went for Bt cotton suffered more losses compared to those who used conventional seeds. While Bt cotton seeds gave a yield of 535 kg per acre, it was around 650 kg per acre from conventional seeds.

Last year, Bt seeds were sown in an area of 100,000 acres in the state.

SOURCE: Indo-Asian News Service / Kerala News, India http://www.keralanext.com/news/index.asp?id=200755&pg=1 <http://www.keralanext.com/news/index.asp?id=200755&amp;pg=1

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2. Farmers' Bodies, NGOs Want GEAC to Ask State Governments to Step in to Seize Illegal Biotech Cotton Seeds

Article from the Financial Express, India. Date: 9 May 2005 http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=90370 Ashok B Sharma

NEW DELHI, MAY 8: Farmers' organisations and NGOs have urged the regulatory body Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) to direct the state governments concerned to seize stocks of illegal and unapproved varieties of Bt cotton seeds before the sowing season.

They have called for seizure of stock of about 300,000 bags of seeds of Mech-12 Bt, Mech-162 Bt and Mech-184 Bt of Mahyco-Monsanto in Andhra Pradesh, which has been disallowed for further cultivation in the state.

They also demand seizure of stocks of Mech-12 Bt in entire south India where it has been recently disallowed.

Farmer leaders and NGOs demand that sites of field trials be made public, so that they can inspect the 'refuge area' and verify the results of the ongoing trials.

Leader of Farmers-Industry Alliance, P Chengal Reddy had earlier said that farmers have booked orders for 300,000 bags of Bt cotton seeds with local dealers. In this context, the executive chairman of the ruling Congress party's farmers' outfit, Bharat Krishak Samaj (BKS), Dr Krishan Bir Chaudhary said: "farmers have already incurred heavy losses by cultivating Mech-12 Bt, Mech-162 Bt and Mech-184. We had urged the GEAC not to renew approval for them. Finally, the GEAC partially agreed and has disallowed its cultivation in Andhra Pradesh. It has also banned cultivation of Mech-12 Bt in entire South India. Now, it is the duty of the state governments and the GEAC to ensure that farmers are not cheated by the sale of these seeds under a different brand."

Dr Chaudhary said that there are reports of failure of Bt cotton in other states as well, but the GEAC considered its failure only in certain areas. ISAAA national cordinator Bhagirath Chaudhary also demanded that GEAC should take stern action to stop proliferation of illegal varieties. He said that GEAC has now approved new varieties and farmers should sow only the approved
varieties.

About, 20 farmer leaders including Bir Singh Mehto of Agragami Kisan Sabha, Krishna Chandra Suryavanshi of Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, Dr Sunilam of Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, Madhya Pradesh, Prof KC Baswaraju of Kranataka Pajya Ryot Sangha, Pishora Singh Sidupur of BKU Ekta, Punjab, S Malla Reddy of Andhra Pradesh Rytu Sangham and Kolli Nageshwara Rao of Andhra Pradesh Ryotu Sangam have urged GEAC to disallow cultivation of Bt cotton on "account of its large scale failure in past three years."

NGOs like Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology (RFSTE), Gene Campaign, Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CAS), Greenpeace India and Deccan Development Society (DDS) had conducted independent studies showing failure of Bt cotton.

Afsar H Jafri of RFSTE said: "Sale of illegal Bt cotton seeds is a matter of grave concern. In my field visits, I found proliferation of these illegal
varieties. Some of these illegal varieies are Azadi, Anmol, Best, Maha
Anmol, Sudarshan, Aiklav, Bahadur, Gold, Maha Gujarat, Sema, Sartaj, Kamander, Balwan, Mold, Om-1, 2 & 3, Rakshak, Patidar-8, Navbharat 55, 151, & 11, Parth, Sarthi, Paramarsh 10, Surakksha, Anand-41, Jai Ratan, Navratan,
Varsha, A1- Homeguard, Bullet-707, Manmold and Sona." A study conducted by Gene Campaign has showed that illegal Bt cotton varieties like Bunny Bt, Super Bunny, H-8 and Om-3 were sown in 2004 season.

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3.Comments from PV Satheesh

Date: 3 May 2005

Dear friends This morning when I woke up, I was greeted by the following news:

All the THREE varieties - Mech-12 Bt, Mech-162 Bt & Mech-184 Bt have been disallowed for commercial cultivation in Andhra Pradesh.

Nothing could have made my day better. The news was about the decision taken by the GEAC, the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee of the Government of India, the apex regulatory body of the Indian Government. Incidentally all the three varieties are products of Monsanto.

The news is specially significant for us because the Deccan Development Society and the Andhra Pradesh Coalition in Defence of Diversity have fought a relentless and focused battle against these Bt hybrids for the last three years. In fact on our latest demands the prominent one read as below:

WE STRONGLY DEMAND FROM THE GENETIC ENGINEERING APPROVAL COMMITTEE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA THAT THEY WITHHOLD THE LICENSE FOR NEXT THREE YEARS TO THE BOLLGARD BT HYBRIDS OF MAHYCO MONSANTO.

The battle included campaign in hundreds of villages involving posters, film shows, discussions with farmers and a path breaking independent scientific study that tracked farmers experience with the Bt cotton from the day they planted the cotton till the day they harvested.

The study produced regular annual reports in
2003 : Did Bt Cotton Save Farmers in Warangal?
2004: Bt Cotton Disillusions AP Again
2005: Bt Cotton in Andhra Pradesh: A three year assessment

Another powerful tool used in the struggle were two films made by a group of women farmer-filmmakers from the DDS Community Media Trust. They used their cameras and microphones as instruments of farmer to farmer research by extensively filming in Warangal District touring over 30 villlages every year and recording the impression of hundreds of farmers. They relentlessly returned Warangal month after month in cold winter and searing summer, sought out their focus farmers, patiently spoke to them to get their information and opinion and came up with two stunning films:

Why are Warangal Farmers Angry with Bt Cotton? and
Bt Cotton in Andhra Pradesh: A Three Year Fraud

The films in Telugu have not only been seen by several thousand farmers in over 200 villages in Warangal, Adilabad and Nalgonda districts but also have been translated into French, Spanish, Thai and English and used in as varied parts of the world such as the Francophone West Africa, Meso America, South East Asia and many parts of Europe.

I must make a very special mention of the Warangal Against Genetic Engineering, WAGE, a district coalition of about ten NGOs in Warangal who led the campaign and research from 2002 to 2005. Their spiritied campaign and lead taken by them in the research was the backbone of the entire three year struggle. They have demonstrated that a determined fight from a small band of committed groups can take on the Goliaths of the Life[destroying] Industry and defeat them even if it is in a battle if not a war.

This small victory has buoyed the spirits of the civil society groups particularly in Andhra Pradesh and given them the confidence that by pursuing their larger goal with renewed determination, sharper focus and collective effort, they can attempt to win the war.

There was a tremendous solidarity in this fight from civil society groups, environmenatal action groups and funding partners. We gratefully acknowledge all this support and urge their continued collaboration in the future struggle to see that some parts of AP can be GM-free zones. with warm regards Satheesh

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4. 'AP Cotton Growers Compensation Claim for Crop Loss Justified'. Bt
Cotton Prone to Diseases: Study

Article from Financial Express. Date: 1 May 2005
Ashok B Sharma
http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=89717

NEW DELHI, MAY 1: A study conducted by a team of cotton experts from the government has noted that Bt cotton hybrids are susceptible to diseases like bacterial blight, alternaria leaf spot and grey mildew. Bacterial blight, alternaria leaf spot and grey mildew were the major diseases on cotton identified in central and southern parts of the country in 2004 season.

This report of the government body confirms the claims by different studies conducted by civil society organisations and independent scientific bodies pointing to the failure of Bt cotton in 2004 season. It also justifies the claims of Andhra Pradesh Bt cotton growers for compensation for crop loss. The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) has withheld its decision to extend the approval period for three varieties of Mahyco-Monsanto' Bt cotton, on getting adverse reports about its performance.

Farmers leader Mallareddy of AP Rythu Sangam has written to GEAC not to approve extension period for "three failed Bt cotton hybrids," while S Jaipal Reddy of the Federation of Farmers Association (FFA) has demanded immediate extension of the approval period. FFA and its leaders have entered into close partnership with the apex industry body, Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and have floated Farmers-Industry Alliance.

All India Coordinated Cotton Improvement Project (AICCIP) in its annual report for the year 2004-05 said: ³The Bt cotton hybrid trials laid out in the central and south zone centres were assessed for the occurrences of Alternaria leaf spot, grey mildew and bacterial blight. A comparative study on the incidence of diseases on Bt and non-Bt cotton was carried out.

The results revealed that both Bt and non-Bt cotton hybrids are equally susceptible to bacterial blight, alternaria leaf spot and grey mildew. The results indicate that the presence of Bt gene does not have any impact on the nost susceptibility and disease development in the Bt cotton hybrids tested so far.²

The AICCIP report added: "he outbreak of alternaria leaf blight and grey mildew disease in central and south zones was significant, especially in hybrids such as Bunny and certain Bt hybrids. The critical damage of these diseases at peak boll formation stage was quite threatening, while adequate pre-emptive control measures were taken by AICCIP by alerting the local state agricultural departments."

Three separate teams for evaluation of Bt cotton for north, central and south zones were constituted by AICCIP. The teams studied breeding, entomology and pahology.

Regarding the south zone, the AICCIP report said: "All the hybrids tried at Lam, Siruguppa and Coimbatore were statistically on par, whereas in Nandyal, Mech 12 Bt and Mech 162 Bt gave significantly higher seed cotton yield over NHH-44.

In Dharwad, Mech 184 Bt and RCH 2 Bt seems to be superior over Mech 162 Bt." This means all cotton hybrids - whether Bt or non-Bt - had same yields as per the evaluations made in Lam, Siruguppa and Coimbatore. Only the evaluation done in Nandyal showed Bt hybrids having more yields than non-Bt varieties. The AICCIP study said the farmers practicing integrated pest management (IPM) benefited in net income and the number of pesticide sprays were reduced by nearly 50%.