Hyderabad: Expressing its shock at the Indian Institute of Millet Research in Hyderabad, developing transgenic sorghum (jowar), the Southern Action on Genetic Engineering has called on the Union Government to take a firm and unequivocal stand against GM (genetically modified) sorghum and to declare that it will not approve GM sorghum.
Southern Action on Genetic Engineering (SAGE) is a coalition of farmers, scientists, environmental activists and civil society groups from South India. “This would have been funny if it was not so tragic,” SAGE said in a letter to the Union Minister for Environment and Forests. Sorghum (jowar) is a crop that offers complete food and nutritional security to the populations of dry land India and rich fodder for its cattle, the letter said.
National Convener of SAGE, P.V. Sateesh, accused IIMR of succumbing to the temptations of the international GM lobby. He said the Global Food Security Act passed by US senate in 2009 set aside over seven billion dollars to support transgenic research.
in South Asia, and the IIMR research is a fallout of this attempt by the US to buy out Indian agricultural research.
He said that SAGE sees the recent development of GM mustard by Delhi University, and the development of GM sorghum by IIMR as results of the Global Food Security Act.
As to the issue of sorghum itself, there is absolutely no reason to believe that it needs GM protection. Farmers hardly use any pesticide or other toxic method to combat pests because such treatment is not required. Sorghum is the food of several million people in India, Mr Sateesh said and its safety must not be compromised.
