1.State wants 'exploitative' firms to fund research for non-Bt seeds
2.Maharashtra cotton farmers urge PM to sack Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar
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1.State wants 'exploitative' firms to fund research for non-Bt seeds
Indian Express, July 25 2012
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/state-wants-exploitative-firms-to-fund-research-for-nonbt-seeds/979158/0
Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil wants Bt cotton companies to tie up with agriculture universities in the state and pump money into research to find an alternative to itself. Companies that refuse to cooperate will be banned, Vikhe-Patil said.
"I had my serious reservations about Bt even in 1999. It hasn't helped dry-land farmers, like those in Vidarbha. It takes care of only bollworm. But farmers still have to use pesticides for other pests like reddening of leaves (lalya)," the minister told The Indian Express.
"There is a clear mismatch between promised and actual benefits, especially in input costs and productivity."
Patil, has ordered criminal proceedings against officials of Mahyco Seeds, a prime Bt cotton company, for allegedly "violating norms about advance booking and providing the government with wrong information about seeds availability".
Mahyco has secured anticipatory bail for its officials from the Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court.
"The companies are simply interested in selling seeds. They must come out in public domain with all data about their products and their actual utility. They are refusing to share it. Quality of seeds has also deteriorated," Vikhe-Patil said. "Interest of dry-land farmers must be taken into account."
The minister's views notwithstanding, government data show cotton area and productivity in the state went up in post-Bt years. Despite predictions to the contrary, Vidarbha has not seen a significant drop in area under cultivation which went up by 2.5 lakh hectares in 2010. Cotton area last year was 15.3 lakh ha; it is 14.3 lakh ha this year, with sowing still on.
Vikhe-Patil said he wanted seed companies to tie up with state universities to find viable alternatives to Bt. “"They were anyway supposed to do that for the first two years. They are not supposed to introduce their seeds directly into the market. Let them now have participatory research with us.
"Let's develop such varieties that will not be controlled by external factors. Now what is happening is Monsanto has developed a product and others are simply following it. I will be convening a meeting of companies and state universities to take it forward," the minister said.
He added, "Companies that do not come out in the public domain will be banned."
Both Vikhe-Patil and Agriculture Commissioner Umakant Dangat have been speaking of going back to "traditional varieties suitable to agro-climatic conditions of regions like Vidarbha”. An expert pointed out that fully replacing Bt cotton would require seed production on a massive scale. "We will have to produce those seeds on a huge 40,000 hectares to serve the 40 lakh hectares of cotton area in the state. The whole process will take four-five years," the expert said.
Patil agreed that "a big effort" was needed. He insisted he was not against new technology; however, "technology shouldn't exploit farmers. Bt companies have done that."
Responding to issues around its face-off with the government, Raju Barwale, managing director of Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco), said the company was "law-abiding", and has "always engaged with ethical and credible distributors across districts in the state".
Barwale refuted allegations made by the Beed zilla parishad agricultural development officer that it had supplied incorrect information about Bt cotton seeds, failed to supply seeds in promised quantities, and not cooperated with local authorities.
On the minister's allegation that Mahyco had violated advance booking norms and fed him incorrect information on the availability of seeds, Barwale said "there are no norms that Mahyco is alleged to have violated", and that the firm "has not defaulted on any government guidelines and has supplied in excess to the agreed seed packets”.
Barwale described the government’s announcement that it is considering banning Mahyco from selling Bt cotton seeds in Maharashtra as “unfortunate”. He said he welcomed the minister’s statement that private companies would be required to tie up with universities and fund research.
“Over the years, we have entered into collaborations with academia and industry to keep pace with new developments across the agri-business spectrum,” he said.
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2.Maharashtra cotton farmers urge PM to sack Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar
Vidarbha Times, 24 July 2012
http://vidarbhatimes.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/maharashtra-farmers-urged-pm-to-sack.html
Nagpur – The 3 million vidarbha cotton farmers who are reeling under agrarian crisis and drought has reacted very strongly on recent on going boycott of Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to the very important meeting with Agriculture secretary on alert over a deficient monsoon, directing ministries to help states facing drought-like situations by taking urgent steps to put contingency plans to distribute seeds, augment fodder and power and deal with drinking water shortages when Indian Prime minister Manmohan Singh went ahead asking agriculture secretary to gear up plans to fight the impending drought situation particularly in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Karnataka, if the monsoon does not revive, this is height of blackmailing the coalition partner when country need functional Agriculture Minister and part-time one hence we urge PM to replace Sharad Pawar with sensitive and responsible fulltime dedicated non-corrupt to handle delayed rain and damage to crops, Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti, President, Kishor Tiwari informed in a press release today.
'In fact India's Agri. Minister and NCP Supreme Sharad Pawar is totally responsible for ongoing cotton growers suicides in the cotton belt of Vidarbha since June 2005 and failure of all relief packages to stop ongoing farmers as money given to for irrigation project has been siphoned out by NCP Ministers and his party men direct involvement and action initiated by Maharashtra chief minister is reason of on going blackmail pressure tactics but his larger role in mass genocide of more than 10,000 cotton farmers in granting mass commercial production permission to Genetic Modified Bt. Cotton of USA base company Monsanto in Vidarbha .when farmers were committing suicides since 2005 most of time India's Agri. Minister and NCP Supreme Sharad Pawar was in cricket and he never visited a single household even when PM visited vidarbha hence his immediate removal will give certain relief dying vidrabha cotton farmers' Tiwari added.
VJAS has claimed that these farmers' suicides are innocent victims of Govt. Policies from which NCP Supreme Sharad Pawar is responsible as his NCP Party Ministers are involved in all mega scams in Maharashtra which are surfaced and are in focus today hence his recent pressure tactics has exposed him but PM and Congress should not concede hostile demands and it’s right to get rid of killers of innocent vidarbha farmers', Tiwari added.