Faced with the problem of maintaining the country?s image as an exporter of GM-free rice, the department of biotechnology (DBT) is now contemplating changes in its guidelines for regulation of field trials for genetically modified (GM) crops.
DBT secretary, MK Bhan , DBT advisor KK Tripathi and advisor in the science and technology ministry, SR Rao have suggested that no field trials of GM rice should be allowed in Basmati rice producing states?Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.
India has a competitive advantage in the export of its premium aromatic rice?Basmati?worth in millions of dollars. The recent contamination of US and Chinese rice with GM traces and the consequent refusal of the contaminated shipments by major importing countries sent shock waves across the global trade. The US rice industry incurred a loss in millions of dollars and suggested ?a clean up exercise? to the US administration.
With the uprooting and burning of GM rice crops under field trials by farmers in the country and NGOs reporting cases of violation of biosafety norms, Indian rice exporters woke up to the reality and began asking for strict implementation of biosafety norms to prevent any possible contamination of exportable rice with GM traces.
The exporters even went to the extent of filing an impleadment application in the on-going writ petition filed by Aruna Rodrigues and others in the Supreme Court. Aruna Rodrigues and others have urged for a moratorium on GM crops. The DBT, in this context, called for a consultation with major stakeholders last week to trash out the issue. In the consultation it was decided that the directorate of agriculture and agriculture universities in the states concerned would be informed about the permission for field trials of GM crops.
The village panchayats would also be informed about the field trials. The letter of permission should specifically say ?confined trial? and not ?contained trial.?
It was also decided that all information about the field would be shared with the public through relevant websites. DBT would take steps to educate farmers and other stakeholders on biotechnology and GM crops using the services of BCIL and AgBios.