The Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS, the Indian Farmers' Union, affiliated with the political party RSS) is planning to initiate a wider consultation exercise among farmers in Uttar Pradesh as part of a measure to build pressure against GM crops. Sources in the RSS said that the Uttar Pradesh unit of BKS, like in other states, has been put on alert mode by the central government's plans to constitute a committee to frame policies on GM crops. Times of India

 

 

GM seeds would threaten the country's agrarian and political sovereignty, said Magsaysay Award (an award for outstanding public service) winner Dr Rajendra Singh, popularly known as the waterman of India due to his work on water conservation. Addressing a meeting of farmer leaders and experts, organised by the Anti Free-Trade Agreement Forum of India on formulating a national policy on GM crops in tune with the Supreme Court's recent verdict, Singh said that such modified crops pose a threat to every agro-ecological and climatic zone. "The company claims these seeds are safe but harm our health, environment, and food. Agriculture is part of our culture, but it's just a business for these companies, and seeds are merely products. In business, the primary goal is profit. If we lose our right to seeds, our agricultural sovereignty will be at risk," he said. Onmanorama

 

 

“We are pleased to hear the decision of the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, to prevent the entry into our country of genetically modified seeds, known as transgenic grains, and above all, that the planting and harvesting of these chemical products is not permitted,” said Juan Manuel Medina Castro. The leader of the League of Agrarian Communities and Peasant Unions of the CNC (National Peasant Federation) of Yucatan, Medina Castro, stated that the former president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, prohibited the entry into the country of GM seeds, as well as the planting of transgenic corn, sorghum, and soybeans. He reiterated that Mexican farmers support the decision of President Sheinbaum to continue preventing the entry into the country of transgenic grains that could cause human diseases and affect the livestock sector. The Yucatan Times

 

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