Indian farmers reject GM

[Haanu]

Farmers in India accuse Mahyco, a close ally of Monsanto, of misleading them about GM crops and breaking rules on biosafety.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6338377.stm

[nickupton]

As the article says, hunger in India is less to do with lack of food and more to do with the inequality of wealth. Poor people cannot afford to buy food. Genetically engineered crops will most likely increase this inequality as large companies are able to patent gene codes and make large profits selling the seed to farmers who have little option but buy the seed if they wish to remain competitive.

Hooray for the fires!

[Cricket Tragic]

From The Financial Express (India)

Commodities

Bt cotton delivers, awareness issues remain

Commodities Bureau

Hyderabad, Jan 31 The usage of Bt cotton has resulted in higher productivity and satisfaction levels, farmers in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka continue to show poor awareness about it and thus resulting in lower cotton yield nationally, a survey has revealed.

According to an IMRB survey, farmers using certified Bt cotton seeds showed higher levels of satisfaction with increased productivity expectations as opposed to those who used non-Bt seeds.

Also, there is enough awareness on Bt cotton seeds in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

About 30% of farmers in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka reflected poor awareness, the survey has revealed. The study aimed to understand the awareness, perception and acceptability of Bt cotton seeds in cotton growing areas.

Announcing the survey results, Paresh Verma, spokesperson, All India Crop Biotechnology Association, said that there is a preference for Bt technology from those farmers who have adopted it. Over 81% of the farmers surveyed are in the process of recommending this technology to other vegetables and fruits as well.

Analysing the financial distress faced by the farmers, the survey explained that high input costs, low minimum support price, improper financial planning, rising fertiliser costs and lack of alternative occupations were some of the reasons for the farmers’ distress.

In Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, low minimum support price was cited as the most important reason for the distress and high input costs were considered a major cause in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

The study conducted in 23 districts across five cotton growing states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka showed that the farmers using certified Bt cotton seeds had better return on investment.

Further, productivity expectations with certified Bt cotton were higher than non-Bt hybrid and ordinary cotton seeds.

On an average, the profit of percentage of investment for farmers using certified Bt cotton seeds was as high as 57% as oppose to profits of 44% by farmers using non-Bt hybrid seeds, the survey has revealed.

[JamesM]

Interesting the thread starts on deception and bio-safety and CT replies with a post about profit. Are we to assume that in CT's book deception and breaching bio-safety are worth it to make a dollar?

[Cricket Tragic]

Not at all. Merely pointing out that Indian cotton farmers have not in fact rejected GM cotton en masse.

The area sown continues to grow and most farmers who grow it are satisfied with the crop.

[JamesM]

Oh my apologies as the article focussed on profit I thought you were glossing over the deception and bio-safety aspects.

But there again if they consider that they are intelligent enough to hide the truth and judge others, then they are gravely mistaken. Because there isn't anyone associated with that industry who's intelligent enough to judge a small hamster.

That is why they have failed.

[screener]

[Cricket Tragic]

Originally Posted by Daddy

Oh my apologies as the article focussed on profit I thought you were glossing over the deception and bio-safety aspects.

Only the last sentence mentioned profit. The rest of the article was about productivity gains with Bt cotton and farmer expectation.

In the original BBC article it was an anti-globalisation activist group that made the claims of deception and biosafety, not Indian cotton growers.

[screener]

They were talking about gm foods, and it looked to me that the farmers were definitely a part of it. The point is that the economics of gm food are bad for everyone except the gm companies. When you take into account resource depletion, including soil, oil and gas, and farmers, those who don't accept the temporary advantage of gmo's and those who do, society loses while the corps make a bundle selling poorly researched seed.

[JamesM]

oh right CT, is this the business model that defines that productivity isn't related to profit?