New Delhi: rescue withdrawal Granted last month for environmental release of genetically modified (GM) mustard, the central government told the Supreme Court that the deployment of GM mustard hybrids would contribute to India’s self-reliance in edible oil production and would take a long time to realize it. Will travel. Vision of “Atmanirbhar Bharat”. To counter this, the government said, farmers, consumers and industry will suffer.
In an affidavit filed before the top court, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) said that domestic production of GM mustard will reduce India’s dependence on other countries from where it can buy large quantities to meet domestic demand. Importing edible oil into ,
On November 3, a bench of Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia had sought a response on an application seeking a stay on the release of GM mustard, while the Center had assured that there would be no “early action”. The affidavit filed on Thursday is in response to this order of the court.
The affidavit mentions that at present India meets about 55-60 per cent of its edible oil demand through imports.
Incidentally, he submitted, the imported edible oil is from GM oilseeds. For example, India largely imports about 55,000 metric tons of canola oil from GM canola seeds. Similarly, about 2.8 lakh tonnes of soybean oil is being imported annually, which mainly consists of GM soybean oil.
“Most of the exporting countries like Argentina, USA, Brazil and Canada cultivate GM soybeans. Globally, about 80 per cent of soybean growth is GM soybean,” the MoEFCC document states.
“Mustard is the most important edible oil and seed meal crop of India, grown in about 8-9 million hectares of land. The rate of seed replacement (farmers buying fresh seeds) is around 63 per cent and the area under irrigation has become 83 per cent of the total area under mustard. Despite all these investments, the mustard yield is stagnating,” the affidavit said.
However, the present rate of consumption of edible oil in India is higher than the domestic production rate, due to which India is continuously importing edible oil. The affidavit said that the average prices of refined palm oil, refined soya oil and mustard oil are continuously increasing, due to which India needs to become independent in oil production to meet the demand of domestic consumption.
In this scenario, opposing the introduction of such technology in the agriculture sector, especially when India is importing and consuming oil derived from GM crops, would only harm farmers, consumers and industry, the ministry claimed.
“The rise in the prices of edible oil will also lead to inflation in the Indian economy. An agricultural reform like growing GM oilseeds crops like mustard would be useful,” the affidavit said, adding “to improve agricultural productivity in oilseeds and cereal legumes with a clear goal of making the country self-reliant in edible oils and cereal beans. Underlines the Centre’s commitment to
Read also: Indian scientists say GM mustard will help increase crop yields, cut vegetable oil imports
‘Conditional approval to GM mustard after detailed regulatory review process’
The application for a moratorium on the release of GM mustard was moved by activists led by Aruna Rodrigues, who in 2016 and again in 2021 opposed open field trials or commercial release of herbicide tolerant (HT) crops, including GM mustard. A petition was filed. The court was informed that a committee of experts, called the Technical Experts Committee (TEC), constituted by the apex court in 2012, had recommended a complete ban on all HT crops.
Sharing the comprehensive details of the regulatory mechanism operating to monitor GM crops, the government provided an insight into the decision-making process for GM mustard. According to the government document, in 2015 a 3,251-page dossier containing the results of all biosafety studies was submitted to the Genetically Engineering Evaluation Committee (GEAC), which was followed by a thorough investigation by GEAC and its sub-committees. . withdrawal.
The application for environmental release of GM mustard was considered only after the applicant has completed three years of testing, as required under the regulatory regime.
“The conditional approval has been made following a lengthy and detailed regulatory review process that began in 2010. This conditional approval pertains to an environmental release prior to commercial release and is subject to necessary regulatory and technical oversight,” the affidavit said. ” , as it provided year-wise development of the GM mustard project.
Even the Consortium of Indian Farmers Association (CIFA) made a presentation to the members of GEAC with a request to approve GM mustard in India, as “this technology gives an additional yield of 30 per cent and is available through import substitution”. It also saves huge amount of money from farmers and also benefit the farmers by providing additional income, the affidavit said.
However, if there is any evidence regarding harmful effects of approved GM mustard, the approval may be canceled on the ground of non-compliance with any of the conditions laid down by GEAC.
(Edited by VS Chandrasekhar)
Read also: Why India banned the export of broken rice and more restrictions could be imposed