INDIAN FARMERS UPROOT AND DROWN ILLEGAL
GM CROPS
Just minutes after Monsanto's Kinyua
Mbiajewe portrayed GMOs as greatly
beneficial for poor farmers in Kenya at FoE
Europe's "Sustainable Agriculture in the
New Millennium" conference, M.D.
Nanjundaswamy of Via Campesina described a
vastly different scenario. Nanjundaswamy, a
member of this ten-million strong
international farmers alliance, explained
how GM crops were the target of two
separate Via Campesina actions in his
native India. "Both cases were totally
illegal," said Nanjundaswamy.
In the first case, a field trial of Bt
cotton was illegally planted earlier than
permitted under the Indian government
regulations governing GM field trials. The
company violated a second Indian regulation
by failing to notify the Agriculture
Department of the field trials. More
surprising still, the farmer on whose land
the cotton was planted was also completely
unaware that the crop was a transgenic test
trial.
"We went to the village where the field
trial was, and we talked to the farmer and
had a village meeting. We explained the
implications of cultivating this crop,"
said Nanjundaswamy, who lives in the state
of Karnataka where this violation occurred.
"No biosafety measures were taken in the
field, and there was a risk of all possible
dangers arising out of such a trial," he
continued. "The farmer immediately
understood the implications, and he and the
village agreed to pull out the plants."
Nanjundaswamy's organization has since
forced the Indian government to make public
a list of all 40 field trials being
conducted in India.
The second case was a disaster for
thousands of farmers. Monsanto's transgenic
C7 sorghum, as yet not certified by the
Indian government, was nonetheless sold to
3000 farmers who cultivated the crop over
an area of 30,000 acres. "The crop failed
one hundred percent," said Nanjundaswamy.
"There were earheads coming out, but no
grain at all, with the result that we have
sued Monsanto in the consumer
tribunals."
Nanjundaswamy, who is a lawyer and a
farmer, is certain that Monsanto will have
to pay damages. "They were trying to soften
farmers by offering 3000 rupees ex gratia -
out of generosity - not even US$70 per
acre. We said, "No, nothing doing, we want
damages." They will pay soon."
Nanjundaswamy said his organization then
got a first court order to have the 18
remaining tonnes of seeds seized by the
courts, and a second court order later to
destroy the seed. "We wanted to burn it,
but Monsanto through the local seed company
told us to give it a watery grave. So we
dug a big pit, threw the sorghum into it,
poured water in, then covered it with mud.
And so we gave it a watery grave."
Janice Wormworth, FoEI
