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Claims on Bt cotton need to be probed, says panel:
Context:
A Parliamentary panel headed by Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury in a report released on Friday said the government agencies have portrayed “a rosy picture” on Bt Cotton which is far removed from the truth.
Key highlights:
- The report of the Standing Committee on Science and Technology claimed that the government cited only overall cotton output and not the average yield in area.
- India’s cotton yields increased by 69% in the five years(2000-2005) when Bt Cotton was less than 6% of total cotton area, but by only 10% in the 10 years from 2005-2015 when Bt Cotton grew to 94% of the total cotton area.
- The report slammed the government for its “casual” approach to the need for a scientific study of GM crop impact on health.
- The committee pointed that two decades after introduction of GM crops in 1996, only six countries continue to account for over 90% of all GM crop area globally including U.S, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, China and India.
- The Ministry of Agriculture conceded to the committee that herbicide-tolerant gene may escape through pollen into nearby farm and fields, to another GM or non-GM crops.
