191 – Indian Farmers Protest for Technology Access
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English - June 15, 2019 05:00 - 27 minutes - 25.4 MB - ★★★★★ - 239 ratingsNatural Sciences Science Education biotech science life science plant biology agriculture agtech biology Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
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While Indian farmers have realized benefits from GE cotton, food crops have been forbidden from this growing country. Their neighbor to the west, Bangladesh, has realized great gains from the “Bt” Brinjal (eggplant). Farmers there used to spray 80-100 times a season to protect their crop. In 2014 the Agriculture Minister approved the “Bt” Brinjal, a variety that protects itself from the pest using a naturally-occurring bacterial protein that is toxic to fruit-boring insect larvae. The number of sprays declined to 1-2 per season. Indian farmers wanted the same benefit, and seeds have been making their way into India, despite the fact that they have not been approved. In this episode Dr. C.S. Prakash explains the current protests, as Indian farmers plant symbolistic areas of Bt brinjal, defying laws and potential penalties in the name of technology sovereignty. Dr. Prakash has been contributing to the biotech crop discussion for decades, he has been recognized with the CAST Borlaug Ag Communications Award, and here tells the story of the situation in India.
Follow Dr. Prakash on Twitter: @AgBioWorld
And his website: AgBioWorld.org
