The State government permitting field trials of Bt cotton and Bt maize varieties has attracted opposition from farmers’ organisations with the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (Collective Leadership) and Hasiru Sene urging the government to withdraw the permission.
In a press release, the KRRS and Hasiru Sene, which comprises the former Advocate General Ravivarma Kumar and Chukki Nanjundaswamy, daughter of the farmers’ leader late M.D. Nanjundaswamy, as members of its presidential board, alleged that a no objection certificate (NOC) had been granted to Rallies India Ltd. to take up field trials by the State Biotechnology Coordination Committee meeting held on February 23. The company has been given the NOC to take up trials in the University of Agricultural Sciences-Dharwad and the University of Agricultural Sciences-Raichur, the KRRS said.
It pointed out that the private firm would be conducting field trials of MLS 4301 and MLS 2531 transgenic cotton and maize varieties from 2024 to 2026. These two varieties have herbicide and pesticide resistance and it has been claimed that they will increase the yields by 30% to 70%, the KRRS and Hasiru Sene said.
