Beyond Bt cotton: India starts work on a policy on GM crops

“The panel constituted by the ministry of agriculture will learn from other nations and engage agricultural and climate scientists from other countries who have worked on GM crops," the first among the two people mentioned above said.

“The agriculture ministry in consultation with the ministries of environment, forest and climate change, health and family welfare, and the department of biotechnology, has set up the panel of agriculture scientists that will also evaluate the GM crop research done in other countries and submit its report in the next couple of months," the second person said.

Queries seeking the names of the committee members remained unanswered.

Queries mailed to the ministries of agriculture, health, environment, science and technology remained unanswered at press time.

“The members of the committee are scientists with expertise in rice, cotton, and plant protection," this person said.

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This follows a split verdict by the Supreme Court on allowing GM mustard on 23 July, with the apex court calling for a comprehensive strategy to ensure the safety of GM crops, including mustard, for human consumption.

On 25 October 2022, the government approved the environmental release of indigenously developed GM mustard, with the aim of reducing dependence on imported mustard oil, which makes up about 60% of the country's edible oil consumption.

That approval came a week after the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), the top environmental authority for GM crops, granted conditional approval for the release of GM mustard on 18 October 2022.

However, in November 2023, a government trial for releasing GM mustard was put on hold  after anti-GM crop activists moved the Supreme Court. 

Along with the rest of the world, GM crops remain a controversial matter in India, a predominantly agricultural country. GM crops remain controversial for their alleged impact on human and animal health, and for their ability to contaminate non-GM crops – a problem that can become acute in countries where there is no foolproof system to track and trace crops.

While major agricultural exporters such as the US allow GM crops – including corn, soybean, cotton, canola and sugar beet – the European Union allows imports of GM crops only after a risk assessment by the European Food Safety Authority. The 27-nation bloc is also stringent about labelling food and feed products where GM crops have been used. The EU allows GM soy and maize, which are used in animal feed.

Bt cotton

In India, Bt cotton is the only GM crop approved for cultivation, with several other crops such as chickpea, pigeon pea (tur), corn and sugarcane in various stages of research and field trials. Mustard is on hold after the first trial sowing.

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“In the past two decades there have been efforts to bring new technological interventions. However, GM acceptance among policymakers and stakeholders has been slow. A national policy in this regard would be helpful, however, any such decision should have a time-limit in place," said Chirag Jain, partner, Grant Thornton Bharat LLP, an agricultural economist. 

“If we estimate that those who have really suffered with the delay would be the farmers and taxpayers whose money has been invested against paying the hefty import bills," Jain said.

“The trials indicated that GM mustard gave 28% high yields against Varuna, the traditional variety of mustard. The research also confirmed that the GM mustard hybrid is safe for cultivation and for food and feed use," he said citing government claims submitted to the Supreme Court. 

However, Ashwani Mahajan, the national co-convener of Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, expressed concerns, pointing out that the trait of GM mustard inserted into the indigenous mustard seeds is not of Indian origin.

“We have a 13-point agenda to challenge their claims of indigenous traits. Even their assertion of higher yield is a myth, and there are several other issues concerning the independent testing of the seed," Mahajan stated.

Meanwhile, farmers are calling for technological upgrades in Bt cotton, as GM cotton is called, arguing that the older technology is hindering efforts to boost cotton production, which has been on a declining trend.

"The world has moved to BG-III variety of Bt cotton while in India, we are still stuck with the BG-II variety. With changing climate conditions, new pests and weeds are emerging, making it harder for cotton farmers to increase their yields," said Ganesh Nanote, a cotton farmer from the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.

BG-II – or Bollgard-II – is a genetically modified cotton variety with two Bt genes providing resistance to bollworms and other pests, reducing insecticide use and improving crop protection.

Production of oil seeds

Production of oil seeds has come down by 4.22% from 4.13 million tonnes in FY23 to 3.95 million tonnes in FY24. The production of cotton has also decreased from 33.66 million bales in FY23 to 32.52 million bales in FY24, a decline of 3.38%.

"There is no one document that defines and connects the roles of various agencies such as the departments of biotechnology, agriculture, environment, Food Safety Standards Authority of India and state governments involved in evaluating GM crops," said Dr Ratna Kumria, senior director of agri biotech, Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII).

To be sure, ecologists and other critics argue that GM crops may have unintended ecological consequences, such as harm to non-target organisms, development of resistant pests, or disruption of local ecosystems.

“We need a national biosafety policy, not a promotional policy on GM crops. This was also emphasized by a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture in its 2012 report. The government must prioritise protection of citizens from the risks of modern biotechnology, in addition to other socio-economic considerations like farm livelihoods, trade security and so on," said Kavitha Kuruganti, a key petitioner in the GM crops case.

"What is also important is that the government needs to undertake widespread consultative processes before any policy is formulated," said Kuruganti, a leader of the Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA). She advocates farmers' rights, sustainable agriculture, and opposes genetically modified crops.

During the hearing on 23 July, Justice B.V. Nagarathna emphasized that only foreign research studies have been used to make recommendations, noting the lack of Indian studies.

Justice Sanjay Karol had observed that the composition of the GEAC is in accordance with rules. The approval granted is by an expert body (GEAC) and therefore, a challenge to such approval cannot be allowed, he said.