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New Delhi, Feb 23: The Union commerce ministry has decided to intervene and ask the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) not to approve field trials of genetically modified (GM) crops in Basmati rice growing states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand and western Uttar Pradesh.
The consensus emerged at a recent meeting of stakeholders convened by the commerce ministry. The meeting among others were attended by the chairman of Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority (Apeda), Sashi Sareen of Export Inspection Council of India, advisor to the department of biotechnology, KK Tripathi and representatives of the All India Rice Exporters Association (Airea).
The meeting also decided to ask GEAC not to approve field trials of GM crops in all the 60 agri export zones (AEZs). Apeda has been asked to submit a detail list of 60 AEZs.
Speaking to FE, the Airea executive director, Anil Adlakha said, “We are neither against nor in favour of GM crops. Our concern is maintaining the country’s export prospects. Recently when the US and Chinese rice were contaminated with GM trace, major importing countries refused rice consignments from these two countries. The US rice industry is reeling under heavy losses. We do not want such a situation to occur in India.”
Saying that the exporters’ concern was to keep all AEZs safe from any possible contamination by GM crop field trial, Adlakha said, “We suggested a transparent and scientific procedure for such field trials and that the GM crop field trials should be conducted under a validated event-specific protocol and in a transparent manner. The trials should be conducted by a lead scientist whose details should be disclosed,” he said.
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