What happened to Bt Brinjal in India?

Bt Brinjal is a GM crop created by inserting Cry 1Ac gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis into Brinjal. The insertion of the gene gives Brinjal plant resistance against lepidopteron insects like the Brinjal Fruit and Shoot Borer (Leucinodes orbonalis) and Fruit Borer (Helicoverpa armigera). Upon ingestion of the Bt toxin by the insect, there would be disruption of digestive processes, ultimately resulting in the death of the insect.

The Bt Brinjal seed was also developed by Mahyco or Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company in collaboration with Monsanto. The GEAC had approved permission for field trials of Bt Brinjal in 2009. The rationale behind the approvals was to bring down the economic cost of brinjal production in the country. As per studies, the Shoot Borer and Fruit Borer cause up to 20% damage in the crops. The introduction of Bt Brinjal would add to annual production and it would be good for farm economy in the country.

However, since Brinjal was a food crop, the furore over permission to field trials was overwhelming. Despite of the claims of the company that it has done all Biosafety tests, there were concerns over potential health hazards and problem of terminator seed in Brinjal (which would compel farmers to by seeds from Monsanto). The matter reached to Supreme Court and an expert committee, appointed by Supreme Court recommended a 10-year moratorium on field trials of all genetically modified (GM) food crops and a complete ban on field trials of transgenics in crops which originate in India. The result was that the government imposed a moratorium on field trials of Bt Brinjal in 2010.

Meanwhile, in 2013, Bangladesh gave nod to the commercial cultivation of Bt brinjal, making it the first South Asian country to cultivate the genetically modified food crop. This brought apprehensions among the environmentalists in India who fear that, given the porosity of Indo-Bangladesh border, the transgenic crop could leak into India’s environment. They have requested the Government to take all measures to safeguard food and seed supply, apart from bio-diversity. Requests have also been sent to Environment Ministry to take all steps to prohibit any illegal or unintentional transfer of Bt brinjal or seeds through the border with Bangladesh. Environmentalists have written to the Ministry urging Indian government to explore all options under the Cartagena Protocol to ensure that Bangladesh takes all measures to ensure that our diversity here is safeguarded from any trans-boundary movement of this GM food crop.