Kerala has expressed serious concern over the move to test Genetically Modified seeds in the state, especially its ‘rice cellar’ Palakkad.
Taking note of reports that a Maharashtra-based firm is trying to enter the state for experimental cultivation of GM seeds, state Agriculture Minister Mullakkara Ratnakaran has written to the Centre seeking steps to declare the state as “GM-free zone.” The farmers outfits in Palakkad have come out against the move arguning that turning the fast-dwindling paddy base of the area a testing field for GM seeds would ultimately push the paddy growers into a “serious trap” besides causing harming the ecology.
“We are opposing it as allowing GM seeds is fraught with a set of grim consequences for farmers, especially paddy cultivators,” said Muthalamthode Mani, General Secretary of Palakkad-based Desiya Karshaka Samajam.
“The ultimate result of such a scenario would be that the farmers would be driven to depend on the multinationals for seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and even to sell their produce, Mani said.
In his letter to Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Ratnakaran wanted the Centre to stop any move to allow an agency said to be under the control of the Monsanto Corporation to test its seeds in the state.
This would endanger the biodiversity of the state, half of whose geographical area is part of the Western Ghats, which is a biodiversity hotspot, he said.