Parliamentary Standing Committee’s report on GM crops

Taking cognizance of the serious differences of opinion amongst the various stakeholders and the controversies surrounding the cultivation of transgenic food crops, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture had selected this subject for detailed examination and Report to the Parliament. Standing committee comprised of 31-members, chaired by chairperson, Mr Basudeb Achari.

The report took up the matter suo moto in 2009-2010. Which came in the wake of the huge controversy over GEAC, the regulator, approving India’s first food crop, Bt Brinjal for commercial release. In order to elicit public opinion, a press communication was issued on 13 March, 2010 seeking views and suggestions on the cultivation of transgenic food crops from the various stakeholders. 467 memoranda, most of them signed by several stakeholders were received by standing committee. In all, the Committee received documents running into 14826 pages. The Committee also extensively interacted with various stakeholders including State Governments, farmer’s organizations, NGOs, farmers and their families, etc. during their Study Visits to the various parts of the Country during this period.   The Committee on the suggestion of some stakeholders also viewed ‘Poison on the Platter’ a documentary film (here) by Mahesh bhatt on the subject of GM crops.

In all 27 Sittings of the Committee lasting 60 hours and 52 minutes were held for and in connection with the examination of this subject of considerable sensitivity and importance.  The Report was considered and adopted by the Committee at their Sitting held on 3^rd August, 2012. It was tabled in Lok Sabha on 9th August, 2012.

The chairperson of the committee, Mr Basudeb Achari, has released the report on “Cultivation of Genetically Modified Food Crops – Prospects and Effects” in a press and said, “The committee has come to the conclusion that since concerns on the potential and actual impacts of GM crops to our food, farming, health and environment are valid, GM crops are just not the right solution for our country”.

The committee found that GM crops have an impact on health and the environment and these aspects were overlooked while approving Bt Brinjal trials in India. It also states that there was an urgent need GM labelling laws in India. Therefore, The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, in an extraordinary gazette notification, has made an amendment to make labelling of every package containing genetically modified food mandatory from January 1, 2013. The move will impact the imported GM foods that are flooding the markets. The notification (here) published on June 5, 2012 says: “Every package containing the genetically modified food shall bear at the top of its principal display panel the words GM’”.

Consumer Affairs Secretary Rajeev Agrawal told The Hindu (here) that “the government’s intention in introducing GM labelling was to “educate consumers and make them aware of GM products, much in the manner that there is labelling to distinguish non-vegetarian food from vegetarian”.

 Acharia said that there are several issues related to GM food crops  and the report looks at them critically. The report also recommends initiatives and amendments are required in the regulatory system for GM crops by government. According to sources, the report exposes gaps in the Union government's policy on promoting GM crops, which ignores several things like biosafety, biodiversity and food and seed sovereignty and farmers livelihoods.

The report holds great importance as it is being presented at a time when the Union government, especially the ministry of science and technology, is trying hard to introduce a new regulatory system for GM crops by the name Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI). MPs across political parties, including some from the ruling coalition (Congress and Trinamool Congress), have opposed the BRAI Bill due to its undemocratic and unscientific nature. The Bill proposes setting up BRAI under the ministry of science and technology which will act as a single window clearance system for products of modern biotechnology, including GM crops. At present GM crops are under the purview of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Commenting on the only GM crop commercially cultivated in the country, the report states that Bt cotton has not improved the socio economic condition of cotton farmers in the country and in fact had furthered their distress especially in the rain fed areas of the country which forms the majority of cotton and farmer suicide belt. The committee had held a public consultation at Yavatmal in Vidarbha to find out the ground reality on Bt cotton's, the only GM crop commercially cultivated in the country, contribution to the agrarian crisis.

Parliamentary committee slams regulatory system on GM crops and chairperson said (here) soon after tabling the report that “The committee found that the present regulatory system in our country which comprises of Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) is inadequate and the regulatory system needs to be more robust, ensuring severe scrutiny”.

Millions of farmers across the Vidarbha region, Maharashtra, and environmental activists have welcomed the parliamentary committee’s report (here).

Greenpeace has also welcomed (here) the report and termed it as the most comprehensive assessment of genetically modified (GM) crops in the country. “The standing committee report exposes the serious gaps in our country's GM regulatory system and the lopsided GM technology promotion policies of the government,” said Neha Saigal, Sustainable Agriculture campaigner, Greenpeace India. She added that it is time that our government prioritise the welfare of its citizens over profit motivated seed companies who the only ones are benefiting from GM crops. Greenpeace demands the Indian government to take the recommendations of the Parliamentary standing committee on agriculture seriously and immediately act on them.