GM Seed is killer seed of vidarbha cotton farmers-VJAS

GM Seed is killer seed of vidarbha cotton farmers-VJAS

Nagpur-2^nd August 2009

Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti(VJAS) has been working as watchdog to follow the on going agrarian crisis and cotton farmers suicides since 1997 and has been raising the farm suicides issue at all redressal forum in India and world.

VJAS is official litigant in Mumbai High Court, NHRC-Humam Right Commission both at state and national level and we have been documenting the all most all cotton farmers suicides in west vidarbha since June 2005 hence we have legitimate morality to talk with proper authority to support this serious allegation that GM seed has been one of major cause of cotton farmers suicides after the official commercial trials of Bt.cotton was permitted in June 2005 .

In the year the 2005 Monsanto American company was allowed to sale Bt.coton seed at the price fixed by company and was officially marketed by state own seed corporation MAHABEEJ,Union Minister for Agriculture Sharad Pawar toured vidarbha in June 2005 to promote Bt.cotton seed along with his counter part Agriculture Minister of Maharashtra Balasaheb Throat.VJAS had raised objections on the controversial commercial trials of Bt.cotton cultivation in dry land area of west vidarbha and rates fixed by Monsanto as total Bt. Cotton failed in year 2005 in west vidarbha due attack of lalya disease and Govt. of Maharashtra compensated the damages as failure of Bt.cotton that triggered mass farmers suicides in octobner-2005 and in December 2005 Maharashtra Govt. officially admitted that more than 1000 cotton farmers suicides west vidarbha due Bt.cotton failure and declared Rs.1070 crore relief package but the financial losses and economic damages to cotton farmers were too huge to stop take extreme step of suicide and that started spiral of cotton farmers suicides which is till continue and the series of relief packages to the cotton farmers are also continue but as on today all efforts are futile and resultless but VJAS wants to discuss some of facts Bt.cotton cultivation in west vidarbha which are

1.At present area under bt.cotton cultivation is almost 2 million hector which was only 4 lacs hector in 2005.ther is established monopoly of American company Monsanto and farmer in west vidarbha has no option to buy BT.cotton seed at the rate fixed by this MNC.

2.Cotton farmers general opinion is that Monsanto BT.cotton assured irrigated land yield of this cotton is optimum but in dry land cultivation it’s loss making crop in fact Monsanto is also not recommending the cultivation of Bt.cotton till they are marketing in the west vidarbha where 98% land is non-irrigated and dry land .

3.As per official record consumption of pesticide and fertilizer has drastically increased in this area where bt.cotton is cultivated. Pesticide and fertilizer are forcibly recommended by GM seed company and most of time recommended pesticide and fertilizer names are printed on Bt.cotton seed pocket.

4.As per official data the cotton production after introduction of bt.cotton cultivation since 2005 onward has been gradually decreased .

5.Number farm suicides in west vidarbha is more than 1200 every year 100 or 200 more or less and distress level and debt crisis is till very critical.

6.Now there is monopoly of American mncs in the input and output produce and cotton farmer of vidarbha are working like slaves on their filed.

7.Niether economic condition of cotton farmer has changed even though Indian Govt. Has pumped more than Rs.16,000 crores for 2 million farmers but it failed to address the issue of farm suicides and agrarian crisis.

VJAS has been demanding the complete ban on monopoly input items of MNC which are seed ,pesticide and fertilizer and ban on subsidized US raw cotton trade to Indian textile industry but Govt. failed to take these corrective steps hence cotton farmers suicides are till continue in vidarbha. Everybody knows Union Minister Sharda Pawar has wasted interest in these American companies and we have made these allegations along with all earlier allegation against these MNCs in our various petitions on affidavit with all set of documents to stop their Indian operation as suicides of vidarbha cotton farmers are not suicides these are mass genocides done by these MNCs and minister like sharda pawar are co-accused .

VJAS has track of all Bt. Cotton growers in vidarbha who has cultivated this killer GM seed and then committed suicide due to huge losses in the cultivation or crop failure due to basically dry land farming not suited for this highly sensitive Bt.cotton seed.

Thousands of tribals and deprived class cotton farmers have already become innocent victim of this BT.cotton seed which popularly known as killer seed in this year.

Now issue of toxicity of Bt.cotton is much more discussed as in west vidarbha after June 2005 after commercial trials of Bt.cottton started the public health crisis has matter of concern ,there are new virus like chikun gunia has done massive damage now cancer is one killer disease reported in this area where as mealy bug has already spread all over forest of vidarbha and only time will tell us damage being done by this mealy bug gifted Monsanto .

VJAS is purely activist group not NGO and we are not taking any fund from any agency or company hence we are not having any wasted interest in this American Monsanto bt.cotton seed controversy but in fact vertical and horizontal monopoly of thses MNCs which is killing thousands of innocent cotton farmers of vidarbha is truth and time will prove this ,may GOD save vidarbha cotton farmers.

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