The narrative of GMO success is unravelling, writes Claire Robinson
Recently we published an article about a report by the policy research organization UBINIG, which presented the results of its investigation into the performance of GM Bt insecticidal brinjal (eggplant) in its second year of cultivation in Bangladesh.
UBINIG’s report found that officials from the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) and the Department of Agriculture nannied the GM brinjal plants through their short and fragile lives, providing farmers with a large arsenal of pesticides to combat the host of pests and diseases that besieged the plants. In many cases the officials even took over management of the crop from the farmers.
The report also alleged that failing Bt brinjal plants were replaced by the officials during the growing season, meaning that the project would not meet basic scientific standards and could not be used as evidence for the crop’s success.
In spite of these extraordinary efforts, however, UBINIG concluded that Bt brinjal had proved a “miserable failure”, giving poor yields and income for the farmers and fruits that proved hard to sell in the marketplace.
Full Report: https://gmwatch.org/en/news/latest-news/16537/