Government allows cultivation of genetically modified crops after full scientific evaluation

NEW DELHI: The government allows cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops after full scientific evaluation of biosafety and impact on environment as well as on consumers, Parliament was informed today.

In India, cotton is the only GM crop (Bt cotton) approved for commercial cultivation.

"The government policy is to allow GM crops after full scientific evaluation of its biosafety and impact on the environment and on the consumers," Minister of State for Agriculture Sanjeev Kumar Balyan said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

"The government follows the policy of 'case to case basis' for approval of GM crops," he added. 

Replying to a separate question, the minister said the area under Bt cotton has gone up significantly. Share of Bt cotton in the total cotton area has increased from 91.47 per cent in 2011-12 to 93.99 per cent in 2013-14.

"Total production of cotton has also increased from 35.2 million bales (of 170 kg each) in 2011-12 to 36.5 million bales in 2013-14," Balyan said. 

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Farmers to have ‘Kisan Mandi’ in Delhi by September

NEW DELHI: Farmers will be able to directly sell fruits and vegetables to consumers and wholesalers in Delhi as the city will have a 'kisan mandi' by September after the government changes the law that gives traders and middlemen a monopoly. 

Farmers and farmer producer organisations (FPOs) will be able meet part of Delhi's demand of 15,000 tonnes of vegetables a day after the Delhi Agriculture Produce Market (APMC) Act is amended, said Pravesh Sharma, MD of the Small Farmers' Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC), a society under the department of agriculture. SFAC is already preparing to launch the mandi in the capital. "We will provide a platform — over 25,000 sq feet to sell produce directly to consumers, both wholesale and retail," he said.

Retail chains said the move would help them procure good quality vegetables but traders were confident the initiative would not work as it would be difficult to match the established mandis, which provide loans to farmers and allow retailers to make payments after a few weeks. 

For the new market, the government is looking at possible locations such as a Nafed godown and cold storage at Lawrence Road and sites of the Delhi Milk Scheme (DMS) at Shadipur and Alipur. 

In the first phase, the mandi is targeting participation of 25-30 FPOs and growers associations. Initially onions, potato, lemons, banana, apples will be sold followed by fresh green vegetables. 

The mandi is expected to give both dry and cold storage space to each allottee, apart form logistics handling facilities. "In the first six months we should be able to sell 1,000 tonnes of fruits and vegetables which will represent 6% of the current market," said Sharma. 

The government has promoted over 300 FPOs with over five lakh farmers across the country whose members are farmers and grassroots institutions, which provide collective bargaining power to small and marginal farmers. 

We are also exploring to sell fruits and vegetables through the network of 500 DMS booths. Further, the Delhi government has allowed us to sell onion and potato through 1,000 fair price shops in Delhi-NCR," said Sharma, who felt the organised retail network could help kee ...... 

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