mahyco – Ubinig

India asks about Btbrinjal: what Bangladesh can say?

5Nov

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India asks about Btbrinjal: what Bangladesh can say?

Farida Akhter SINCE 2014, Bangladesh has been commercially field testing four Btbrinjal varieties. In October 2013, on its last day of the session, the 9th parliament approved the genetically modified eggplants. The timing was strategic — a very agitated political situation prior to the national election was a convenient moment to introduce an inappropriate and unsafe technology. Btbrinjal has hardly any agronomic value but threatens Bangladesh with potential biosafety risks. Btbrinjal is the first GM vegetable crop that got the government approval despite protests from environmental and farmers’ organisations. Mahyco, the Indian counterpart of Monsanto, who gave the technology to Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, has now applied seeking approval for commercial release o...

4May

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Events/News

Organise Against Corporate Crimes

UBINIG and Nayakrishi Andolon || Thursday 04 May 2017 UBINIG and Nayakrishi Andolon “Our environment is poisoned, our food is poisoned. We must act collectively against the corporate crimes”, speakers at the Press Briefing on Monsanto Tribunal stressed. The briefing was held on 4 May, 2017 at the National Press Club, Dhaka. The Press Briefing was organised by UBINIG and Nayakrishi Andolon to share the Legal Opinion delivered by Judges of Monsanto Tribunal. In this Tribunal, a testimony was presented by Farida Akhter of UBINIG on Bt Brinjal, a Monsanto-Mahyco initiative imposed on the farmers through Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI). The Press Briefing was chaired by Dr. Zafrullah Chowdhury. Delwar Jahan of Prakritik Krishi, Human Rights Activist Adv. Adilu...

BT BRINJAL COMMERCIALISATION: Alarming alliance of four M’s

4Oct

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Btbrinjal & Corporate Politics

BT BRINJAL COMMERCIALISATION: Alarming alliance of four M’s

Farida Akhter The Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institution (BARI) is a public institution under the agriculture ministry and is obliged to serve public interest. As a public research institution, its primary task is to decide research priorities that must contribute to the benefit of the farming community, enhance the formal and informal scientific knowledge base of Bangladesh and strictly protect natural, biological and intellectual property of the people of the country. Unfortunately, the institution has miserably failed to meet to its obligation and responsibility. The ill practice of using farmers in Bangladesh for cultivating the controversial GM food crop Bt brinjal on behalf of the multinational company Monsanto through the Maharasthra Hybrid Seed Company (Mah...

BtBrinjal: Non-compliance of approval terms!

30May

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Btbrinjal & Corporate Politics

BtBrinjal: Non-compliance of approval terms!

Coalition Against Bt Brinjal (বিটিবেগুন বিরোধী মোর্চা) Introduction Bt brinjal is a GMO or Genetically Modified Organism. Crystal gene from Bacillus thuringiensis has been inserted into brinjal genome to increase the resistance of brinjal against Fruit and Shoot Borer (FSB) insect. Bangladesh Agricultural research Institute (BARI) has conducted this research with the support of ABSP II of USAID. BARI received the seeds of Bt brinjal from Maharastra Hybrid Seed Company (MAHYCO), India. There was no innovation by BARI scientists, they only used the Monsanto-Mahyco technology to conduct experiment with the genetically modified Bt. Brinjal through the farmers in Bangladesh. BARI had applied for approval during mid July (14 July, 2013) to the Ministry of Agriculture for cultivati...

Mahyco ‘owns’ Bt Brinjal, not BARI and never the farmers!

27Feb

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Btbrinjal & Corporate Politics

Mahyco ‘owns’ Bt Brinjal, not BARI and never the farmers!

Farida Akhter On October 30, 2013 Bangladesh National Committee on Bio-safety (NCB) approved the application of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) for limited-scale cultivation and marketing of genetically modified eggplant, known as Bt Brinjal amid protests by environmental and farmers groups. The resistance against Bt Brinjal is increasing on issues related to serious threat to bio-safety and health. The authorities have failed to prove any agronomic value of the genetically engineered product and the claims are based on faulty methodology. The farmers are squarely resisting against patenting and explicit attempt of bio-piracy through technological manipulation. However, disregarding all these views, BARI claimed that Bt. brinjal has been developed in the public s...