VJAS urged Indian Govt. to clarify it’s official stand on Desi Bt cotton seeds of Central Institute of Cotton Research (CICR)

Saturday, April 25, 2009

VJAS urged Indian Govt. to clarify it’s official stand on Desi Bt cotton seeds of Central Institute of Cotton Research (CICR)

VJAS urged Indian Govt. to clarify it’s official stand on

Desi Bt cotton seeds of Central Institute of Cotton Research (CICR)

Nagpur- dated April 26, 2009

It is reported that the white elephant research institute of Indian council of agriculture search (ICAR) the Central Institute of Cotton Research (CICR) in Nagpur after ten long years of research punctuated with technical delays, is ready with 20,000 packets of desi Bt cotton seeds for distribution to farmers starting next month in four states.

It is reported by CICR Director Keshav Kranthi. that DESI Bt,cotton seeds will be available for Rs 200 per 2 kg bag as against Rs 750 per 450 gm bag of Monsanto’s Bt,cotton seed currently sold by national and multinational companies like Mahyco, Rasi, Ankur and Nuziveedu.

CICR claimed that the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), the apex body which clears GM crops, had okayed the Indian strain on May 2 last year this variety will enable farmers to replicate seeds for the next sowing and CICR’s DESI Bt.cotton variety needs very little fertiliser and pesticide, the farmer can save nearly 4,000 per acre in the first year (Rs 1,000 on seeds, Rs 2,000 on pesticides and Rs 1,000 on fertilisers) and about Rs 4,500 per acre every subsequent year since he won’t have to buy seeds. One seed of the desi Bt can produce up to 200-300 seeds which is not possible with Monsanto’s Bt,cotton seed more over Monsanto’s Bt,cotton seeds has been failed in vidarbha’s dry land cotton fields resulting more than 5000 cotton farmers suicides ,informed kishore tiwari of VJAS (vidarbha jan andolan samiti) since june 2005 after Indian Govt. permitted commercial trials of Monsanto’s Bt,cotton seed .

Having got very bad experience with Monsanto’s Bt,cotton seeds now Indian council of agriculture search(ICAR) non-operational and paper tiger baby the Central Institute of Cotton Research (CICR) in Nagpur is claiming that Indian cotton scientists were able to introduce the Bt gene Cry 1 AC in the Rajasthan variety Bikaneri Narma three years ago with their own standardised protocol (method) called primary transgenic and it further added that CICR will also be give foundation seeds for multiplication next year to state Govt. which they failed before . Besides this CICR also claims that they are only institute after.China has succeeded in developing its own protocol called Pollen 2 Pathway which needs official verification.

CICR has informed that they will supply the bags to state seed companies which will then distribute them to farmers and this year CICR is giving it only to Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat ,VJAS has raised doubts as state seed companies are official agents of Monsanto’s Bt,cotton seed currently sold by national and multinational companies like Mahyco, Rasi, Ankur and Nuziveedu will not promote DESI Bt.cotton seed of CICR.

CICR Director Keshav Kranthi claims that DESI Bt.cotton seed of CICR is beneficial in drought-tolerant, non-irrigated areas and is also resistant to sucking pests like jassids and aphids ,VJAS has urged Indian Govt. to take official stand over this ICAR activity as Monsanto’s Bt,cotton seed has been known as killer seed in vidarbha cotton belt and now CICR should not add another killer Bt.cotton seed in the region as CICR informed that Maharashtra will get 13,000 packets, followed by Madhya Pradesh (up to 3,000), Andhra Pradesh (up to 1,000) and Gujarat (500). The CICR will retain about 3,000 packets for multiplication which clear indication that vidarbha will get majority of desi Bt.cotton seeds in addition to Monsanto’s Bt,cotton seed currently sold by national and multinational companies like Mahyco, Rasi, Ankur and Nuziveedu .

“our experience with Monsanto’s Bt,cotton seed is too bad to believe in any more Desi Bt.cotton seed as GM technology is based on gene which noly available in part of America then it is must for Indian Govt. to clarify on the claims of CICR ” Kishore Tiwari further added.

“we want to stop on going farm suicides of poor debt trapped cotton farmers and to protect from , multinational companies like Monsanto but corrupt leaders ,officers and now research community will make the thing further impossible” Tiwari said.

Please release this pres note

Thanking you,

Yours faithfully, For VIDARBHA JAN ANDOLAN SAMlTI

KISHORE TIWARI

PRESIDENT

kishortiwari@gmail.com

contact-09422108846

Posted by PLEASE SAVE VIDARBHA FARMER at 12:34 PM 0 comments

VJAS demand PM to ban Bt Cotton Supplied by Monsanto

Thursday, April 23, 2009

India calls PM to ban Monsanto Cotton

http://worthmotherearth.blogspot.com/2009/04/india-calls-pm-to-ban-monsanto-cotton.html

VJAS demand PM to ban Bt Cotton Supplied by Monsanto

The Vidarbha Jan Andolan (VJAS) activists have reported shocking facts, all types of plants and ruby crops are severely infected by Mealy Bug, a virus gifted by imported Bt.cotton supplied MNC Monsanto. The VJAS warned that coming khariff season will have it'''s wider effect and larger area spread covering all most all crops and set to destroy of next year not only cotton crop but all the other food crops hence too plant eater killer.

VJAS president Kishor Tiwari urged the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ban Monsanto Bt. Cotton seeds in agrarian crisis hit West Vidarbha in order to save more than 3 million distress and debt trapped vidarbha cotton farmers. He also demanded CBI probe over the Mealy Bug spread in Vidarbha region.

He said that in order to save cotton farmers in suicide prone areas of Andhra Pradesh , the Andhra Pradesh government has advocating promotion of organic cotton and to avoid the deadly bt-cotton trap

Now when the cotton plants have died, the mealy bug is shifting to nearby plants. By mid June, farmers will go for the new cotton crop or plant another crop. But before that, he warned that the bug will have multiplied like any thing. It has shifted to Congress weed nearby, and many other weeds and plants in gardens.

In the fertile regions of Andhra Pradesh 'white gold' monocultures of the high yielding hybrids of 'Green Revolution' cotton had turned the state into the pesticide capital of the world even before the advent of genetically modified (GM) Bt cotton. Now, however, the revolution is turning full circle as more and more farmers are opting for low input organic methods that are healthier and economically far more rewarding.

Non-governmental organisations such as the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Modern Architects of Rural India, the Permaculture Association of India, the Sarvodaya Youth Organisation and Oxfam are working in many villages to promote and train small and marginal farmers in non-pesticide management (NPM) of cotton leading to organic production in the third year of uptake.

This initiative comes against a historical backdrop of government support for high chemical input cotton production at national and at state level that has sent the wrong messages to farmers. GM cotton is now falsely promoted as the answer to reducing the scourge of proliferating pesticide use, and is one of many reasons farmers are succumbing to the pressure to grow GM cotton.

Madhavi, who works for Oxfam said that in Maharashtra, Karnataka and other Indian states, there is a culture of organic agriculture, and she is currently talking to local officials to promote organic production in colleges and research institutes in AP and to familiarise local farmers with this lost tradition.

VJAS has requested Prime Minister to ban Bt.cotton in West Vidarbha region and launch National Food Security Mission(NFSM)) and special outlay of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY).

This should be followed along with a comprehensive promotion plan of organic farming in the small and marginal farmers and tribals cultivating barren land for vidarbha and the demand to allocate dedicated funds on the lines of AIBP for farm ponds, community tanks and give incentives to farmers/villages who/which harness water but nobody in the administration is serious over the vidarbha agrarian crisis, Tiwari added.

© 2008 mynews.in

Posted by Patrick Wood at 6:43 AM

In debt-ridden Vidarbha, farmers splurge on bikes

In debt-ridden Vidarbha, farmers splurge on bikes

Chittaranjan Tembhekar | TNN
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-4422481,prtpage-1.cms

1.Tiwari, who has been closely watching the plight of the villagers for a decade, said a large chain of dealers and bankers have been marketing the vehicles after eyeing the farmers’ new-found money. “Dealers and bankers get commission for each sale, but they don’t know how this bike takes away the wealth of the family. Farmers here enjoy the bike and women work in the field. In case of money issues, the women bear the brunt as their belongings are sold and not the bikes,” said Tiwari.

2.“These are ‘killer’ vehicles as the poor farmers use them to travel to nearby talukas to play matka and drink. After losing money, they sell the household utensils of their bayko (wife) but not the bike,” said Kishor Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti. According to Tiwari, these vehicles have disturbed the socio-psycho-economic cycle of life here instead of bringing debt-ridden farmers out of the red by offering different ways of earning.

Mumbai: In the 2008-09 fiscal year, Namdeo Thakre, a Vidarbha farmer, gave up his land for the government’s cargo hub project and began working as an attendant in a hardware shop. When his Rs 1 crore compensation came through, he gave up the job to live off the money and began purchasing expensive items like vehicles. “He spent over Rs 90 lakh over the past year and is now again working as a labourer in the same hardware shop,” said social activist Baba Daware.
Thakre’s story is not an isolated one. A thousand kilometres away from the state’s economic capital, residents of several villages in Bhandara district, the heart of the crisis-ridden farm region of Vidarbha, have bought the highest number of two-wheelers (mainly motorbikes) as compared to any district — including urban areas — in the state this year. Bhandara, whose main village is Gosikhurd, is the first rural area to achieve this distinction, according to a review by the state transport department.
The review shockingly reveals that the farmers, living in one of the worst debtridden areas in the country, have bought the vehicles with money they recently got as compensation against the acquisition of their farms and properties for different projects, mainly irrigation ones, like at Gosikhurd dam. Rs 21-23 cr collected as vehicle tax from Bhandara in 2008-09
A survey of the last fiscal, according to state transport commissioner Deepak Kapoor, says farmers and labourers in Bhandara bought 88,000 twowheelers in 2008-09, over 7,000 to 8,000 more than in 2007-2008. Nashik was next, with 78,000 bikes bought in a region saturated with grape cultivators.
State transport sources revealed that around Rs 21 to 23 crore were collected over the past year in vehicle taxes from Bhandara district, with only 1 to 2% of the sales being cars. At this rate, Rs 300 to 340 crore may have been spent on bikes, the sources said.
Farmer community leaders say this is a bad trend that has been on for the last couple of years. Owning a bike has become everyone’s ambition in these villages where farmers don’t even have enough food to eat.
“These are ‘killer’ vehicles as the poor farmers use them to travel to nearby talukas to play matka and drink. After losing money, they sell the household utensils of their bayko (wife) but not the bike,” said Kishor Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti. According to Tiwari, these vehicles have disturbed the socio-psycho-economic cycle of life here instead of bringing debt-ridden farmers out of the red by offering different ways of earning.
Bhandara farmer Vinod Ghogre said that though the trend has temporarily brought cheer to farmers, it encourages them to spend money on items that are a luxury and not necessary. “They will buy Rs 100 worth of petrol everyday and use glazed tiles for their huts, but will sell the utensils when in loss or take the extreme step of suicide,” he pointed out.
Meanwhile, transport commissioner Kapoor looked at the trend optimistically. “It’s a first such instance wherein a rural area has showed the highest sales, more even than any urban pocket. We had asked dealers to concentrate in these areas,” admitted Kapoor, whose department benefits through collecting vehicle taxes. “If used constructively, the motorbikes can yield fruits for farmers in the near future,” he added.
Transport department sources said the farmers paid several taxes, like registration charges, service charges and one-time vehicle tax. “This all, despite an economic slowdown which appears to have not affected the economy of villages,” said a positive Kapoor, adding that this was a proud achievement of the state. Overall buying of vehicles in urban pockets of the state had reduced due to the slowdown.
Tiwari, who has been closely watching the plight of the villagers for a decade, said a large chain of dealers and bankers have been marketing the vehicles after eyeing the farmers’ new-found money. “Dealers and bankers get commission for each sale, but they don’t know how this bike takes away the wealth of the family. Farmers here enjoy the bike and women work in the field. In case of money issues, the women bear the brunt as their belongings are sold and not the bikes,” said Tiwari.

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'Indian money in Swiss & other banks is over Rs 70 lakh crore'

Vivek Kaul
Wednesday, April 1, 2009 2:41 IST
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1244317

Mumbai: It is no secret that black money has been flowing out of the country into Swiss banks and other tax havens worldwide for years now. While there is no official estimate to quote yet, LK Advani, the prime ministerial candidate of BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, recently said it might be in the range of Rs 25,000 crore to Rs 75,000 crore. R Vaidyanathan, professor of finance at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore and a regular columnist for DNA, feels the real figure is many times that number.

At around $1.4 trillion (over Rs 70 lakh crore), it is way over India's gross domestic product of Rs 43 lakh crore for 2007-08, Vaidyanathan, who was on Tuesday named the head of a taskforce by Advani for preparing a strategic document to get back the national wealth, told DNA. Excerpts:

Which are the various tax havens where the ill-gotten wealth of Indian businessmen and politicians is stored?
There are presumably more than 70 tax havens in the world. Indian wealth could be more in Switzerland and various British/ US islands.

How much Indian money do you think would be locked away in Swiss banks? What is the basis for the estimate you make?
I make this estimate on the basis of a report titled "Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2002--2006, Global Financial Integrity," written by Dev Kar and Devon-Cartwright Smith. It was a project sponsored by the Ford Foundation and the final report was released sometime back in December 2008.

Financial flows in the context of this report include proceeds from both illicit activities such as corruption (bribery and embezzlement of national wealth), criminal activity, and the proceeds of licit business that become illicit when transported across borders in contravention of applicable laws and regulatory frameworks (most commonly in order to evade payment of taxes).

In 2006, the most recent year of the Global Financial Integrity (GFI) study, developing countries lost an estimated $858.6 billion to $1.06 trillion in illicit financial outflows. Even at the lower end of the range of estimates, the volume of illicit financial flows coming out of developing countries increased at a compound rate of 18.2% over the five-year period analysed for the study.

How much of this was siphoned out of India?
On an average, for the five-year period of this study, Asia accounts for approximately 50% of overall illicit financial flows from all developing countries. This report shows that the average amount moved from India annually during 2002-06 is $27.3 billion. This means, during the five-year period, the amount taken away is $27.3 billion x 5 = $136.5 billion.

It is not that all these amounts went to Swiss banks; it has gone to different tax and secret shelters. The share of Swiss banks in this dirty money is a third of the global aggregate; some $45 billion out of the 136.5 billion stashed away from India would have been hoarded in these years in Swiss banks. This appears in page 30 of the report mentioned above.

The important point is that this is only for five years. More amounts were stashed away during the Nehruvian socialist regime. So the loot for 55 years would be several times the amount. In fact, in those days, the Indian rupee commanded a better value per US dollar, so fewer rupees could get a dollar. Hence the estimation that Indian money stashed away may be of the order of $1.4 trillion.

How did the money get out?
There are several methods/ reasons --- under-invoicing/ over-invoicing of exports and imports and getting the balance stored abroad; kickbacks from major defence/ civilian contracts; in the olden days, smuggling of gold and illegal money; transactions done abroad and not reported here; hawala funds; funds earned by artists/ entertainment industry/ sports people and stashed away abroad, etc. When you want to indulge in adharma, hundred ways are open.

Do you feel international terrorist organisations use the tax-haven route to send across money to finance their nefarious activities?
Even our national security advisor, M K Narayanan, has spoken about it in Berlin.
You recently wrote, "Under pressure from federal authorities, Swiss bank UBS is closing the hidden offshore accounts of its well-heeled American clients, potentially allowing their secrets to spill into the open."

Do you feel the government of India should also demand all the Indian black money in Swiss banks back?
Of course, India should and must act. We are not a banana republic.

How can the government go about doing this?
By putting it on the global agenda. Put it in G20. Put it in IMF. Put it in Egmont Group. Also take a lead among all developing countries. Support US/ German/ French efforts.

Do you feel Swiss authorities and other tax havens will cooperate with us on this issue if we take the initiative?
It is not our pressure but that of the US, which will make them cooperate. When a family is in deep financial crisis, it tries to look at the small amount saved under the sugar jar by grandma. In the same way, developed economies are desperate for every dollar.
Even if we do not act due to their efforts, the list of crooks may be out. Then, we will be in a dangerous social situation since the who's who of India will be there. Instead, we should get the list and get the funds and decide on the steps to sterilise it and the punishment to be given out, etc. Otherwise the world will laugh at us. We will be worse than a Nigeria (Sani Abacha) or Phillipines (Markose).

Do you feel the government will do this, given that a lot of the black money belongs to politicians?
Public pressure will make them do it. Plus, the evolving global situation against tax havens also might act in our favour. The money belongs to the poor farmers and unorganised workers.

Do you see businessmen applying pressure on the government to thwart any attempt to get back this money?
The world situation is such that Indian businessmen will want to bring it back now, given the attractive returns in India. The entire proprietary notes route to invest in the stock market was conceived for that.

You wrote in one of your columns that the German foreign intelligence agency BND got the names of 1,400 clients of the Liechtenstein-based LTG Bank who were suspected tax evaders. Of the 1,400, only 600 were supposed to be Germans. Do you think the rest would include Indians? Has the Indian government approached the German government for the list?
Indian names will be there. Our tax evaders and crooks are like Maha Vishnu, present in all continents and all tax havens, in the sea, on the earth, in the air. But our government has been lukewarm in its response to this issue. It should have immediately dispatched senior officials and the finance minister to get the names.