As farmers [headed] to Yavatmal in Maharashtra to showcase post-harvest success stories of banned [herbicide-tolerant] cotton on [Jan. 5], their act of defiance [was] challenged by different organizations, including …. Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) which has demanded action against such illegality.
“How can the state government allow such illegal activity as [the] cultivation of [an] unapproved …. transgenic crop [that] is banned in the country?” asked SJM national convenor Ashwani Mahajan.
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Hundreds of farmers [gathered] in Hiwri village of Yavatmal district in Maharashtra on [Jan. 5] in their attempt to prove the unapproved variety of cotton (HTBt) gave higher yields at a more reasonable cost as compared to the approved [insect-resistant] variety (Bt cotton).
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Though the central regulator, Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), allows commercial cultivation of [an] earlier variety of transgenic cotton (Bt cotton), it has not approved the new GM variety ….
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Many farmers, led by farmer organization Shetkari Sanghatana …. defied the ban and sowed HTBt cotton …. in as many as 10 districts in Maharashtra in June-July [2019].
Read full, original article: Action against illegal seed growers demanded, Maharashtra farmers gear up to show results of banned HTBT cotton
