Vijayawada: Farm activists cautioned Andhra Pradesh government against lax regulation of cotton seed sales, which is leading to various illegalities and jeopardising farmers’ interests. They pointed out that the seed industry which is also responsible for illegal Herbicide-Tolerant (HT) GM cotton spread is using loopholes in current regulatory mechanisms, by selling unapproved seed.
After the serious problems due to unapproved HT cotton seed sale last year and enormous crop loss by farmers, the Maharashtra government has taken serious steps such as banning of “co-marketing” of cotton seeds. The activists demanded that the Andhra Pradesh government should also tighten the regulation including a ban on co-marketing in order to prevent rampant unaccounted sales by companies under multiple brands which do not have approval from the government.
Kiran Vissa of Rythu Swarajya Vedika (RSV), a farmers’ organisation working in AP and Telangana said, “Only a small a number of companies have a licence to actually produce Bt cotton seed which requires permission from the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Council. We questioned how there are a hundred companies selling Bt cotton seed under various brand names trying to attract farmers using misleading claims. We found that most of these companies don’t have licence to produce seed and are only permitted for ‘co-marketing’. This should be allowed only if the seeds are sold in the packaging of the original seed producing company, so that the farmers know what they are buying. Instead the co-marketers are using their own brand names and packaging. Suppose the farmers find that seed produced by a company “A” is not of good quality, they would like to avoid buying that. But another co-marketing company “B” is now selling the same seed under different packaging, thus the farmers cannot make informed choice about the seed purchase. Last year, the AP government took some positive steps to curb illegal sale of Monsanto’s Bg3 cotton, but it is not sufficient unless such rampant unethical practices by seed companies are stopped.”
Kavitha Kuruganti of Coalition for GM-free India said, “Allowing co-marketing companies to sell seed using their own label or brand is a big loophole that needs to be plugged, especially in a restricted product like Bt cotton. The Maharashtra government first placed serious restrictions on co-marketing of Bt cotton seed in December 2017, and then banned it completely in January 2018.
The AP government should do the same, and not yield to the pressure of the seed industry. Otherwise, how will the regulators be able to track the seed packets and ensure that farmers are not cheated by unscrupulous elements? Who will be made responsible — the seed producing company or seed marketing company? We want state governments to curb this system, even as we demand that the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) of Government of India also issue an order to prohibit this co-marketing system”, said Kavitha Kuruganti, Coalition for a GM-Free India.
In fact, the regulators at state and central level should be able to have traceability of seed production of allowed varieties, in terms of seed production plots, farmer names, extent, estimated productivity and production etc.”, said Kavitha Kuruganti, Coalition for a GM-Free India.
