Government withdraws stringent policy drafted against GM seed companies
The ministry of agriculture has rolled back the implementation of its policy; it gave some few days back, which sought to regulate the price of Bt cotton seeds.
The notification not only regulated the price of Bt cotton seeds, but also the “trait value”, which is the fee or royalty per packet of seeds sold which goes to the technology owner and the terms of licensing of the technology to anyone interested in producing the seed.
The government withdrew it five day later for consultations with stakeholders, including different ministries, farmers, experts and industries, so that it can come out with a comprehensive policy. The rules will eventually be framed after taking in view the suggestions of the department of industrial policy and promotion which looks after the intellectual property rights (IPR) issue.
Agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh says “Since this order will decide the licensing issue of GM seed technology of any crop in future, we felt the need to take everyone’s views for wider consultations before coming out with a definite policy”.
“We have withdrawn the order to take views of all stakeholders on the licensing issue. The ministry
has put the entire draft of the order in public domain, seeking views of stakeholders within 90 days”.Asked about the need to have such a policy, Singh said, “There is a view that the other GM seeds (other than the Bt Cotton) may be introduced and therefore there should be a licensing policy. It is for the future”.
