PRAGOTI

 Indian agricultural landscape seems to be changing very rapidly- small farmers gradually giving way to big corporations. In last two decades a plethora of measures were taken to make farming more difficult for the petty farmers and pave way for the likes of Monsanto, Cargill, Reliance or PepsiCo. Starting from seeds, fertilizers, credits or even marketing of their produce, farmers today are under the clutches of corporate sector. While corporate profits are soaring, Indian agriculture seems to be under prolonged depression- with negative or negligible growth in output, declining productivity and increasing input costs. Need for major increase in productivity is felt in different quarters. While major public investment in agricultural research seems to be quintessential, policy makers are undeterred in their faith on the corporate sector. Genetically modified crops are being projected as a magic bullet for increasing productivity. Civil society has come vociferously against the introduction of GM crops. The Science community, on the other hand, does not see any problem in GM technology per se. However, many feel that the over-reliance on Bt technology, among the various options, is mainly due to pressures from US agro-business lobby to help Monsanto, the patent holder of Bt gene, make major inroads in Indian agriculture. Protests from farmers’ organisations, civil society and left parties forced GoI to put commercial production of Bt brinjal on hold for the time being. The euphoria seems to be short lived. Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) is drafting a new bill to thwart away any opposition of GM crops and bring back Bt agenda on fast track. Shaweta Anand’s article on the issue throws light on limitations of GM research and helps us to understand the nuances of the debate.