Indian state warns local firms over spread of unauthorised Monsanto GM cotton

Kaveri Seed

14/02/2018 16:54

By Mayank Bhardwaj 
    NEW DELHI, Feb 14 (Reuters) - A top Indian cotton-growing 
state has told two local companies that seeds they sold to 
farmers may have contained traces of an unapproved GM strain 
from Monsanto, according to government notices seen by Reuters 
that warn of action against the firms. 
    U.S. agrochemicals company Monsanto Co  MON.N  told Reuters 
late last year that local seed companies have attempted to 
"incorporate unauthorised and unapproved herbicide-tolerant 
technologies into their seeds" for profit, leading to the 
proliferation of illegal seeds, according its own internal 
investigation and that by the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. 
    Indian seed firms deny this. The authorities say they are 
still investigating how the strain has seeped into Indian 
agriculture. 
    The southern state of Andhra Pradesh last year launched an 
investigation after finding nearly 15 percent of its cotton 
acreage was planted with an unapproved variety of genetically 
modified seeds developed by Monsanto, which dominates India's 
cotton seed market.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1MH2A9  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1MS37W 
    A panel of officials inspected some seed production plots 
and commercial cotton fields and collected "leaf samples" that 
tested positive for the Monsanto's Roundup Ready Flex (RRF) 
strain, which is engineered to tolerate common weedkillers. 
    Farmers told the officials the seeds that produced the 
positive tests were from brands marketed by Kaveri Seed Co Ltd 
 KVRI.NS  and Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd (NSL), according to "show 
cause" notices sent to the Indian companies on Jan. 29 by the 
office of the state's commissioner of agriculture. 
    The notices, which were reviewed by Reuters, do not refer to 
any other evidence linking the seeds to the two companies. Both 
companies deny any wrongdoing. 
    Using unapproved GM strains is illegal and the state earlier 
said criminal charges can be brought against those found guilty 
under India's Environment Protection Act.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1MS37W 
    "Any Genetically Modified Crop in India should be released 
for commercial crop use only after approval of Genetic 
Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC)," the notices read, 
referring to a committee of experts under the federal 
environment ministry. 
    They asked the companies to explain within five days why 
their cotton seed licences "should not be suspended/cancelled". 
    Contacted by Reuters, Kaveri Seed and NSL said the seeds 
were not sold through their dealers or distributors. The state 
authorities should not have issued the notices without further 
supporting evidence, they said. 
    NSL later said a court in the southern city of Hyderabad had 
stayed, or suspended, the notice on Wednesday. Reuters could not 
immediately confirm that with the court. An official in the 
state agriculture commissioner's office, which sent the notice, 
said it was not aware of any case filed by NSL. 
    Spokesmen for the Andhra Pradesh government and the federal 
environment ministry in New Delhi declined to comment on the 
investigation or the companies' responses. 
    India approved the first GM cotton seed trait in 2003 and an 
upgraded variety in 2006, helping transform the country into the 
world's top producer and second-largest exporter of the fibre. 
    But India has not approved any other GM crops on concerns 
over their safety, and large foreign companies have been 
increasingly unhappy at what they say is the infringement of 
their intellectual property by widespread planting of unapproved 
seeds. (http://reut.rs/2BVrQsC) 
    Authorities in the southwestern state of Maharashtra are 
also investigating illegal cotton planting. 
    Monsanto said using its unapproved technology in seeds could 
leave Indian farmers "vulnerable to exploitation by 
opportunistic companies", because they could lose their crops if 
found to have knowingly planted such seeds. 
    "We appreciate the efforts being taken by the authorities to 
curb the sale of illegal and unapproved seeds," said a Monsanto 
India spokesman. "We will continue to extend our cooperation in 
the investigation and efforts to halt the sale of such 
unapproved products." 
    Monsanto pulled an application seeking approval in India for 
the RRF variety in 2016 following a dispute over how much the 
company should charge in royalties to license its technology to 
local firms. (http://reut.rs/2jbDq80) 
     
    FINDINGS DISPUTED 
    Kaveri Seed and NSL are among India's top 10 seed companies, 
according to market estimates, and both had agreements with 
Monsanto to license its GM cotton technology.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1MM434 
    NSL said the Andhra Pradesh investigating committee should 
not have issued the "show cause" notice - an official demand 
that the company explain its actions - based solely on what 
farmers had told them. 
    "Under the law, the samples have to be drawn in our presence 
and after ascertaining the source of the seeds purchased by the 
farmer," NSL company secretary Narne Murali Krishna said in an 
emailed statement. "The farmer might have grown a crop from 
anybody's seeds." 
    NSL said Monsanto and its Indian partner had failed to 
prevent the spread of seeds used in its trial. Monsanto denied 
that and said it fully complied with Indian regulations. 
    NSL had replied to the notice and was confident that it 
would, as a result, be withdrawn by the state's agriculture 
department, Krishna said, declining to share the content of the 
company's reply. 
    None of the seed samples collected from NSL warehouses and 
distributors by government officials tested positive for the 
herbicide-tolerant traits of Monsanto's strain, he said. 
Government officials declined to comment on the matter. 
    Kaveri Seed has also replied to the show cause notice, said 
G. V. Bhaskar Rao, its chairman and managing director. 
    "Sending notices based on the statements made by a few 
farmers is unprofessional," Rao told Reuters. "We are not at all 
producing anything which has any trace of RRF and authorities 
are always welcome to come and check samples at our seed 
production centres." 
    A senior Andhra Pradesh official, who did not wish to be 
identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media, 
said interviewing farmers was the only way the committee could 
trace the source of illegal seeds. 
    "Since planting is over and we can now only collect leaf 
samples, we will have to rely on farmers to trace the origin of 
seeds," he said. 
    Monsanto, which is being bought by Germany's Bayer 
 BAYGn.DE  for $66 billion, has been at loggerheads with local 
seed firms, including NSL, and India's government over how much 
it can charge for its GM cotton seeds, costing it tens of 
millions of dollars in lost revenue a year.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1MP07Z 
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1H61F0 
 
 (Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj in NEW DELHI; Additional 
reporting by Rajendra Jadhav in MUMBAI; Editing by Krishna N. 
Das and Alex Richardson) 
 ((mayank.bhardwaj@thomsonreuters.com; +91-11-4954 8030; Reuters 
Messaging: mayank.bhardwaj.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: INDIA MONSANTO/COTTON