Seeds of discontent

The field trials of US-based biotech company, Monsanto, on transgenic cotton "Bollgard' in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have, stirred a lot of controversy. On November 29, a group of farmers belonging to the Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangha MRS), a farmers' union, set fire to the first trial of the genetically modified cotton being grown by Monsanto in -Maladagudda, a village about 400 km from Bangalore. In another incident, a group of farmers in Warangal, -Andhra Pradesh, uprooted the Bollgard crop and set it ablaze on December 1.

Monsanto was granted permission from the Union government to conduct field trials on transgenic cotton 'Sollgard' with the knowledge of the state governments. Now, the Andhra Pradesh government has banned all field tests by Monsanto. Some people feel that there has been a deliberate attempt by certain groups to confuse the public with the ongoing field trials on cotton and the terminator gene. The Karnataka agriculture minister C Byre Gowda has said that the trials of the terminator gene would not be allowed in the state. The fact is that the Union government has already banned the terminator gene technology.

'Sollgard' Is a transgenic cotton that has the capability to ward-off bollworm attacks, which should ideally translate Into lower doses of pesticide application. But protesters feel that these experiments are a cover Up to introduce the 'terminator gene', a one-time use seed, which kills the reproduction capacity of the seed. This, they say, would enable, Monsanto to capture, the seed market.

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