VJAS Demands BT Cotton Sowing Intervention Vidarbha

VJAS DEMANDS BAN ON Bt. COTTON BOLLGARD - II IN VIDARBHA :

After the landmark mass sowing permission, by GEAC in June 2005, for Bt Cotton in Vidarbha, more than 2230 cotton farmers suicides have been reported and govt. of maharashtra has compensated cotton growers Rs. 219 core and Rs. 210 crore in the year 2005-2006 and year 2006-2007 for the failure of Bt.cotton in rain fed area of Vidarbha.
Maharashtra govt. has on record admitted that Bt. Cotton has failed in rain fed areas of Vidarbha, whereas 95% area of vidarbha is rain fed.
Now Bt.cotton seeds manufacturing, American company, has introduced Bollgard - II.
For promoting the Bt cotton seeds in Vidarbha, the company, with an elaborate network of Indian seed distributors and dealers, has started its high profile advertising campaign, backed by credit incentives - that it is highly profitable and gives minimum 11 quintal productive yield, where as according to govt. of maharashtra official report the cotton average yield has been dropped down from 120 kg per acre to hardly 50 kg per acre after introduction of Bt.cotton in vidarbha.
The advertising slogan catch line is "your farming, your profits"....
The claims made by the Monsanto company were patently fraudulent, as cotton growers pesticide uses was not dropped down where cotton output was drastically effected resulting mass suicides of cotton farmers in Vidarbha, Kishor tiwari added.
The Indian government is more busy at this time setting its cricket team into good shape for the next World Cup rather than rectifying the wrong decisions of GEAC regarding poor judgement in cropping and sowing patterns in Indian agriculture as a whole.
What a mockery of an Agriculture Ministry.

Total Failure of Rural health care support system, employment and social cum civil administration are the main reasons of farmer's suicides in west vidarbha.
Dr. Sudhir Goyal, IAS, who is Relief Commissionor, and implementing prime minister package himself has asked Indian govt. that low cost sustainable farming is only solution of stop these suicides.
The officials are more busy trying to show that there is no agrarian distress on Indian farms.
Ban on Bt. Cotton and chemical farming is need of hour, and cotton farmers should cultivate there than cotton should the programme of the state the official further demands. Restoration secondary systems like rural employment, health is also needed to stop these on going suicides but nobody is acting in this direction more over misleading press releases are adding fuel to extremely critical situation in vidarbha, as per Kishor Tiwari of VJAS.

07/03/2007

Western Vidarbha :
1. SHAKAR INGOLE, GRAMWADHANI, WASHIM
2. RAMBHAU KHULSANGE, HIWARA, WARDHA
3. RAMDAS SAMARTHA, SHIVANI, GADCHIROLI
4. RAIBHAN PAWAR, RAI TALAO, YAVATMAL
5. SARANGDHAR MALI, WAZEGOAN, AKOLA
6. JANUSHINGH RATHODE, IJANI, YAVATMAL
7. ASHOK SATPUTE, RALEGOAN, YAVATMAL

These suicdes of GM cotton farmers in Vidarbha, occurred during the Vidarbha election tour, and media firefighting, by Shri Vilas Rao Deshmukh, NCP Congress / Maharshtra Chief Minister.
He was claiming in media that Vidarbha agrarian suicides have begun to show a declining trend.
He also claimed that the Manmohan Singh's Vidarbha package was beginning to show results.
During this election tour from Mumbai, he begged for an additional 3-4 years in political power from voters, and blamed "vested interests" for raising issue of agrarian suicides.

One farmer Sarangdhar Mali, village Wazegoan, hanged himself during a Mental Health Counselling session with Dr Udhaorao Gadekar.
Government has decided to divert money towards mental health professionals, rather than addressing agrarian distress in Vidarbha, with agriculture policies.