US trade talks may be cracking India's opposition to GM crops

In a world where an ever-growing portion of grains is grown from genetically modified seeds, India has sat on the sidelines — a major farming nation that has almost entirely blocked the cultivation of engineered food crops.

Now that opposition, deeply held by some influential rural groups and environmentalists, is coming under increased pressure, in what could be positive news for trade talks between New Delhi and Washington. Those negotiations have stalled in part because of India’s reluctance to import agricultural goods from the US, where GM corn and soybeans are common.

During last month’s talks in Washington, concessions offered by the Indian team already included the possible easing of some restrictions on the import of GM corn. The government is cautiously considering other moves that would pave the way for a looser position, according to an official familiar with the matter.

While New Delhi has not explicitly opposed GM crops as an official position, legal and other blocks have effectively kept them out, with the exception of cotton, launched more than two decades ago. Vocal opponents among farmers and influential rural organizations mean there has been little political will to challenge that position.

A spokesperson for India’s farm ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Among the pivotal moments due over the coming months is a Supreme Court ruling on the future of a locally developed rapeseed, engineered to produce more oil and to resist certain pests. The case stalled after a two-judge bench delivered conflicting opinions last year, requiring a three-judge bench to resolve the matter.

A green light there would set a vital precedent in a nation that imports more than half of its consumption of edible oils, and potentially pave the way for other GM food crops.

“The case is pending in the Supreme Court. If the government of India wants, it can be taken up immediately,” said P. Chengal Reddy, chief adviser of the Consortium of Indian Farmers Associations, arguing officials have not done enough to educate a population that is already consuming cooking oils made from GM seeds. He has written two letters to the prime minister in recent weeks to urge approval and plans to press lawmakers to take up the issue during the coming parliamentary session.

Last month, prominent scientists wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to urge the government to allow GM rapeseed in order to improve yields and reduce the country’s reliance on edible oil imports.

Any change in India will take time, however. Opposition to GM crops is rooted in thorny cultural debates and supported by rural groups like Bharat Kisan Sangh, an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

Farmers are also a particularly noisy — and large — electoral constitutency. A year-long protest by hundreds of thousands of farmers during the pandemic marked one of the low points of the prime minister’s tenure, and ended with major concessions. Under the previous administration, an effort to introduce GM brinjal, or eggplant, faltered back in 2010 under similar opposition.

“GM is a life and death issue for farmers, and if the government continues to push this, then farmers will again have to be on the road to protect their interests,” said Avik Saha, a member of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha, a farmers’ group.

As importantly, yielding to GM crops could be seen as a concession to Washington at a time when Modi has largely projected defiance.

India will never compromise the interests of its farmers in trade talks with the US, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan told reporters last week. He has previously said that permitting genetically modified crops would be “like playing with nature.”

Change, however, could bring rewards for a country eager to boost productivity and rural incomes, proponents argue.

“Why should Indian farmers be left behind when technology exists to raise productivity and lower costs?” said R.S. Paroda, a former head of the state-run Indian Council of Agricultural Research and one of the scientists who wrote to Modi. “The technology has been accepted in India for a long time, with no evidence of health risks.”

Bayer AG, formerly Monsanto Co., launched Bt cotton in India in 2002. That remains the country’s only approved GM variety, though it has helped place India among the world’s top cotton producers.