9-Misc: Chief Minister of Andra Pradesh (India) asks Prime Minister's support to scrap seed agreement with Monsanto

[GENET <coordination@genet-info.org>]

                                 PART I
------------------------------- GENET-news -------------------------------

TITLE:  YSR seeks PM's support to scrap seed agreement with Monsanto
SOURCE: WebIndia123, by Rajiv Nagar
        http://news.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=228540&cat=India
DATE:   23 Jan 2006

------------------ archive:  http://www.genet-info.org/ ------------------


YSR seeks PM's support to scrap seed agreement with Monsanto

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy today sought Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh's support for the state government's efforts to
stop US seed major Monsanto from exploiting cotton farmers in the state.

The company and its Indian susidiary, Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (India)
Ltd (MMBIL), was charging a price 12 times more than that being
collected from American farmers and 36 times more than the Chinese
farmers, Dr Reddy wrote in a letter to Dr Singh, presented at the
plenary here.

The state government had already petitioned the Monopolies and
Restricted Trade Practices (MRTP) Commission against MMBIL, asking it to
direct the company to 'cease and desist from imposing restrictions on
Indian seed companies to collect Rs 1,250 towards trait value per unit
of 450 grams of BT cotton seed from the farmers and also direct Indian
seed companies to desist from obliging the agreement of collection of
trait value.

The Andhra government, which had already made six seed leaders
respondents in its petition, has asked the MRTP to declare 'illegal and
void' the agreement signed by MMBIL with three seed producers in Andhra
Pradesh, to modify and re-fix the trait value reasonably and to direct
the MMBIL to repay the excess money already collected from seeds sold in
the state.

Pointing out that the Andhra Pradesh government was not against
commercial use of the US BT Technology or the companies in agreement
with the MMBIL, Dr Reddy sought to assure Dr Singh that his government
had only adopted a legal approach after exhausting all other remedies to
seek justice in the interests of cotton cultivators of the state, who
were paying 'an exorbitant cost' for BT cotton seed.


                                 PART II
------------------------------- GENET-news -------------------------------

TITLE:  PM assures YSR he will take up farmers' cause with Monsanto chief
SOURCE: WebIndia123, by Rajiv Nagar
        http://news.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=228642&cat=India
DATE:   23 Jan 2006

------------------ archive:  http://www.genet-info.org/ ------------------


PM assures YSR he will take up farmers' cause with Monsanto chief

Andhra Pradesh Agriculture Minister N Raghuveera Reddy today said that
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had assured the state government that he
would take up the cause of the cotton farmers with the Monsanto Company
Chairman.

''On knowing that the Monsanto chairman was going to meet the Prime
Minister, I and Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy had met Dr Singh
and represented to him that cotton growers of the state were being
exploited by the US seed major,'' he told mediapersons here.

The Minister said that the US company, which was collecting Rs 34 in
China and Rs 108 in America as royalties as it had patent rights, was
collecting Rs 1200 in India though it did not have patent rights here.
He said the state government had urged the Prime Minister to ensure that
the farmers interests were protected.

''Dr Singh assured us that he was with the cause of the farmers and
would discuss the matter with Monsanto Chairman when the latter met him
in the next few days,'' he said.

Asked why the state government was unable to take action against the
Monsanto company if it was exploiting the farmers, Mr Reddy said that as
per law neither the central nor the state governments had powers to
regularise the prices under the present laws.

''The state government had already filed a petition with the Monopolies
and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission and is trying to rope in few
other cotton growing states in our fight,'' he added.

The Minister said efforts were already on to develop BT cotton seed
indigenously, and ''it would take two to three years.'' Dr Reddy had
sought Dr Singh's support for the state government's efforts to stop US
seed major Monsanto from exploiting cotton farmers in the state.

The company and its Indian susidiary, Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (India)
Ltd (MMBIL), was charging a price 12 times more than that being
collected from American farmers and 36 times more than the Chinese
farmers, he wrote in a letter to Dr Singh, presented at the plenary here.

Pointing out that the Andhra Pradesh government was not against
commercial use of the US BT Technology or the companies in agreement
with the MMBIL, Dr Reddy sought to assure the Prime Minister that his
government had only adopted a legal approach after exhausting all other
remedies to seek justice in the interests of cotton cultivators of the
state, who were paying 'an exorbitant cost' for BT cotton seed.

--


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