A letter from Devinder Sharma, Food and Trade Policy Analyst, to the Prime Minister of India demanding a thorough review of agro policies, especially vis-a-vis GM crops, in the context of farmers' suicides in India.

Dear Mr Prime Minister,

Your recent visit to Vidharba region in Maharashtra has brought the tragic issue of farmers suicide back into the limelight. Among the various reasons being cited for the serial death dance that continues unabated, I feel the most important is the role of unwanted technology in acerbating the agrarian crisis -- it has led to the destruction of natural resource base, thereby adding to the cost of cultivation resulting in increased indebtedness and eventually led the farmers to the gallows.

Unfortunately, the role of technology is not at all being mentioned and for obvious reasons. Chemical fertilisers, pesticides and the water guzzling crops have actually added to farmer woes. Farmers suicides is a reflection of the collapse of Green Revolution.

It is a historic fact that the Green Revolution technology was the dire need for a hungry nation in the late 1960s. But Sir, eventually the blind promotion of such a technology resulted in second-generation environmental impacts that were clearly visible in the 1980s. But instead of going in for what I call as 'mid-term correction', agriculture
scientists pushed in more green revolution or in other words promoted still more intensive farming methods. Coming with a credit system that encouraged such unwanted technologies, farmers were pushed deeper and deeper into a 'chakravyuah' (the trap).

The challenge for the nation is to pull the farmers out of the 'chakravyuah'.

Instead, it is shocking to find that those who were responsible for the agriculture debacle are now pushing in the Second Green Revolution. In other words, instead of pulling farmers out of the trap, we are pushing them still deeper. Living in the past, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) continue to pat
themselves on back for the first Green Revolution. They have been honoured enough for the success of the first Green Revolution. Isn't it time that we hold them responsible for the prevailing agrarian crisis and the spate of serial death dance?

Mr Prime Minister, farmer suicides is not a collatoral damage. It is a ghastly crime for which the nation must take a collective responsbility. Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has himself accepted that over 100,000 farmers have committed suicide in the period 1993-2003. Isn't it strange that if a bridge collapse in the cities kills a few people the
engineers are held accountable? If a patient dies in the hospital from doctors negligence, we hold the doctor responsible But when over 100,000 farmers die, we do nothing but to apologise!

One of the unwanted and risky technologies that is being blindly pushed are the Genetically Modified (GM) crops. Instead of first drawing a balance sheet on what has actually gone wrong and where as far as the Green Revolution is concerned, the undue haste in promoting GM crops only raises eyebrow. We all know for sure now that Bt cotton (the first GM crop to be commercialised in the country) was one of the significant
factors in pushing more and more farmers to commit suicide in Vidharba, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. And yet, no lessons have been learnt. No one has been held accountable.

The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) under the aegis of the Ministry of Environment & Forests has been merrily approving Bt cotton varieties without ascertaining the long-term need, environmental damage and its impact on human and animal health. It has over the years degenerated into a rubber stamp for the private seed companies. Since Bt cotton is now clearly linked to farmers suicides, why shouldn't
successive chairman of the GEAC be also held accountable? Why shouldn't some of
them be publicly tried for their role in forcing farmers to kill themselves?

Since the GEAC has not been held responsible, they are now keen to commercialise first GM food crop -- Bt brinjal. They have put up the research data provided by the private company on their website and asked for public comments. At the same time, look at their nefarious role in pushing Bt brinjal, that in a press statement GEAC has actually said that
it is likely to allow for large-scale field trials for Bt brinjal. Then why make fool of the nation by inviting comments/views if you have already decided to allow for large-scale field trials? Reports are already pouring in from Andhra Pradesh that Bt Brinjal has already been grown illegally in farmers fields. It means a repitition of the illegal Bt
cotton story from Gujarat. This is a very clever way to push in Bt crops, expressing helplessness. Isn't it an indication of the colossal failure of the regulatory machinery?

Mr Prime Minister, I am drawing your attention to the copy of a letter that has been sent by public groups/concerned citizens/scientists to the GEAC on July 16 on biosafety concerns over Bt Brinjal. We need your intervention knowing well that the GEAC will turn a blind-eye to the public concerns. After all, it is a question of life and death for the
nation. Not only farmers, this time the GEAC is even willing to treat the consumers as guinea pigs.

Thanking you,

Best regards

Devinder Sharma, Food and Trade Policy Analyst