Experts and agriculture activists on Saturday voiced concern over the government move to introduce genetically modified Bt-brinjal to the growers’ level, despite a moratorium imposed on its commercialization in India and a ban on its field trials in the Philippines.
When the authorities and courts in two other neighbouring countries are becoming cautious about the promotion of the genetically modified varieties of brinjals, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (Bari) has already applied to the Agriculture Ministry for its use at the growers’ level without any research on the impact on human health and environment, they observed.
At a press conference organised by Naya Krishi and UBINIG at Jatiya Press Club, they also termed the trial of Bt-brinjals under Bari as a process of ‘robbing’ of nine local varieties of brinjals on behalf of the multinational seed companies, including Monsanto and Mehico.
Addressing the press conference, UBINIG executive director Farida Akhter noted that BARI in mid-June filed an application with the Agriculture Ministry seeking approval for the commercial release of the Bt-brinjal seeds.
“There arose huge controversy about Bt-brinjal trials in India and the Philippines over the last couple of years. Besides, Bari has not yet published the research findings on its trials in Bangladesh. You can say it’s a clandestine move as the approval was sought for before the completion of the research,” she said.
Bari research officials are conducting the research at several regions and taking preparation to release four Bt-brinjal varities very soon, she added.
Bij Bistar Foundation chairman MA Sobhan said the Bt research is nothing but a plot on behalf of the private seed companies to rob the growers of the right to seed of their local varieties.
It’s quite inexplicable why such a widely cultivated vegetable is selected to be genetically modified and patented by private seed companies, he added.
Sobhan also pointed out that the Bt gene infestation will only prevent fruit and shoot borer insects, but brinjals can be affected by seven other diseases.
Besides posing huge genetic pollution through pollination, the mutant genes in Bt-brinjals will create anti-biotic resistance in human and animals, he said.
Nine Bt-brinjal varieties were developed using the same number of popular brinjal cultivars in the country.
Bt varieties are immune from the fruit and shoot borer insects as the infestation of foreign genes to the brinjal cultivars creates toxin for these insects.
Since 2005, environmentalists in India and Bangladesh have been staging serious protests against the attempt to introduce Bt crops in the region, claiming the transgenic crops to be seriously harmful to human health as well as the environment.
Several public and private institutions in Bangladesh, India and the Philippines have already signed partnership agreements with Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company (Mahyco), an Mahyco, a subsidiary of global seed giant Monsanto, which has been given the pivotal role in transferring the technology to these countries.
On February 9, 2010, Environment and Forests Minister of India Jairam Ramesh announced a moratorium on commercialisation of Bt brinjal, according to the February 9 issue of Indian daily The Hindu.
The Court of Appeals in the Philippines has recently issued a writ of Kalikasan (a constitutional provision for a citizen’s right to safe environment), ordering the department of environment and natural resources (DENR) and other concerned government agencies in Philippines to stop field trials of Bt-brinjal, according to Sydney based online newspaper Japan Herald issue on May 23, 2013.
Source: UNBConnect
