Civil society members urge govt to stop commercial release of Golden Rice, BT Brinjal
Published :
Updated :
For all latest news, follow The Financial Express Google News channel.
Civil society members have urged the government to refrain from giving commercial approval to all types of genetically modified crops and foodstuffs, including Golden Rice and BT Brinjal.
They made the appeal on Monday by sending a letter to the secretaries of Agriculture and Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and director generals of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) and Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI).
Golden Rice is a variety of rice genetically engineered to produce beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, in the grain, making it a potentially powerful tool to combat vitamin A deficiency, a major public health problem in many parts of the world.
BT Eggplant, on the other hand, is an example of GM crops with enhanced traits.
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) have held meetings with government officials to advocate for the commercial release of Golden Rice, highlighting its potential to address vitamin A deficiency, according to the letter.
The delegation of IRRI’s 'Healthier Rice Programme Project' has sought cooperation from the government for the release of Golden Rice varieties in Bangladesh and the government bodies concerned have assured them to review their request for approval.
"We are deeply concerned over the steps of introducing genetically modified rice and foodstuff varieties in biodiversity dependent Bangladesh", said the civil society members in the letter, adding that Philipphine’s Appellate Court on April 17, 2024, directed its government to cease and desist from commercially propagating and conducting BT Eggplant activities and revoke the biosafety permit for commercial propagation of Golden Rice.
They questioned the necessity of the commercial release of genetically modified and company-patented Golden Rice in Bangladesh, when alternative natural sources of ‘Vitamin A’ exist and are easily available in the country.
The signatories of the letter are Sultana Kamal, Farida Akhter, Khushi Kabir, Dr Iftekharuzzaman, Shamsul Huda, Zakir Hossain, Alamgir Kabir, Dr M A Sobhan, Pavel Partha, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, among others.