| 68% lower incomes - study / Bollywood star backs away from Monsanto (13/4/2006) | |
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1.68% lower incomes for Bt Cotton farmers in Maharashtra: MEC report EXCERPTS: Bollywood star Nana Patekar had been reported to have apologized for promoting [Monsanto's GM cotton] 'Bollgard', given the large scale losses reported from across the state... Given that Bt Cotton has become responsible for farmers' suicides, Nana Patekar announced that he will not support Monsanto anymore and that he will not promote their product, Bollgard Bt Cotton, anymore. (item 2) The groups said this is a landmark judgment, since it marks the first step that has ever been taken against the company whose poor quality Bt cotton has resulted in major losses for the farming community in almost all states where it was cultivated, mainly Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka (item 3) 1.68% lower incomes for Bt Cotton farmers in Maharashtra: MEC report This study is from the Indian stae of Maharashtra, based on season-long monitoring and a comparative design involving non-Bt cotton. FULL REPORT PART 1 PART 2 PART 3 --- 2.BOLLYWOOD STAR BACKS AWAY FROM MONSANTO excerpts from the MEC report: Marketing of Bt Cotton: Majority of the farmers had opted for Bt Cotton based on media advertisements. In Maharashtra, Nana Patekar, the marathi film actor was used by the Bollgard companies to boost their sales. He appeared in TV advertisements in addition to addressing farmers' meetings in person. It is interesting and important to note that by the end of the season, Nana Patekar had been reported to have apologized for promoting 'Bollgard', given the large scale losses reported from across the state. Many farmers in our study have been influenced by several different channels – the media, the dealers and distributors, fellow farmers etc. Deshonnati:January 5, 2006 "Nana Patekar's ram ram to Monsanto" Given that Bt Cotton has become responsible for farmers' suicides, Nana Patekar announced that he will not support Monsanto anymore and that he will not promote their product, Bollgard Bt Cotton, anymore. 3.'THE FIRM CHARGES HIGH ROYALTY FEE ON BT GENE' NEW DELHI, APRIL 10: The Director General of Investigation and Registration (DGIR) has indicted Mahyco-Monsanto, and found it guilty of illegal practices in the Bt cotton case filed against the company by the All India Kissan Sabha and Andhra Pradesh Ryotu Sangam before the monopolies and restrictive trade practices commission (MRTPC). The DGIR report states that Mahyco-Monsanto was charging an excessively high royalty fee for its Bt gene which made the seed exorbitant for farmers, leading to losses; the company has provided no rationale for the exorbitant license fees. As there is no competition, Mahyco-Monsanto are in a position to charge for the technology arbitrarily and unreasonably, thus establishing a monopoly. The DGIR report was welcomed by civil society groups that have been demanding action against Mahyco-Monsanto because of its exorbitantly priced cotton, which was a failure and farmers had suffered heavy losses, and already fragile farm economies were taking a beating. Dr Suman Sahai of Gene Campaign, Dr Suneelam of Madhya Pradesh Kissan Sangharsh Samiti, Yudhvir Singh of Bharatiya Kisan Union, Anil Chaudhary of Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF) and Dhirendra Singh of Popular Education and Action Center (PEACE) said in a joint statement on Monday that the indictment of Mahyco-Monsanto by the DGIR, is an important and welcome step. The groups said this is a landmark judgment, since it marks the first step that has ever been taken against the company whose poor quality Bt cotton has resulted in major losses for the farming community in almost all states where it was cultivated, mainly Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Despite the widespread failure of the Mahyco-Monsanto Bt cotton varieties reported by NGOs, state governments, media and other independent agencies, neither the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) nor the ministry of agriculture, have so far moved to take action against the offending company. <p>After the first harvest of 2003 when it was clear that the Mahyco-Monsanto cotton had failed, Gene Campaign and other NGOs and farmers’ groups had demanded from the agriculture minister, that the company be made to pay compensation to those farmers who had suffered losses. Mahyco-Monsanto had refused to pay any compensation and the government allowed it to have its way. In 2004, a coalition of NGOs led by Gene Campaign requested an enquiry by the Central Vigilance Commission into the reasons why in the face of widespread failure of its Bt cotton, the government officials refused to take any action against the company. |
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