Farmers' groups oppose commercial farming of Bt Brinjal

New Delhi, Oct. 21 (ANI): Influential lobby groups of farmers on Wednesday expressed its fierce opposition to the commercial farming of Bacillus Thuringiensis Brinjal (Bt Brinjal) in the country.

"This is only a game plan of the multinational companies to sell their technology in India to make money and nothing else. It is not going to solve any food or environmental problems but will only increase them," Vijay Jawandhia of Shetkari Sanghatana or Farmers' Organization, told a news conference here.

The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) on Wednesday approved the commercialisation of the genetically modified crop, but the farmers argue that the country has no scarcity of bringles.

"As far as the farmers are concerned, there has been no demand for Bt Brinjals from their side. Lots of farmers are growing brinjals all over the country and the production is also good, but despite of this the multinational companies are pushing hard to commercialize the farming of Bt Brinjals in India. There has been no shortage in the production of brinjals in our country, rather there has been a surplus production," said Yudhvir Singh, Convenor of the Coordination Committee of Indian Farmers' Movement.

The vegetable consumed by the masses will be the first genetically altered food crop to be commercially launched in India.

Bt Brinjal is a transgenic vegetable, which carries a gene called 'Bt' from a bacterium, which releases toxin to kill fruit and shoot borer insects. (ANI)