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India asks developed countries to lift farm subsidies

Taking up the cudgels on behalf of the Third World, India on Wednesday asked the developed countries to eliminate farm subsidies and usher in new agricultural technologies to their homelands even as the intense debate over genetically modified food in India reached the streets of the South African capital.

Minister for Environment and Forests T R Baalu rallied support for ratification of Kyoto Protocol at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg.

"I hope that other countries will also soon ratify the Kyoto Protocol so that it could come into force before COP-8, which starts on 23rd October," he said informing that India submitted the instruments of accession to the UN two days ago.

He also urged the US and Russia to sign the treaty to make it effective.

Baalu also sought to remind the developed countries their pledge taken at Rio Summit ten years ago to give 0.7 per cent of their GNP as Official Development Assistance to the world's poor countries.

Asserting that Agenda 21 which provides for an action plan to sustain the path of development, was non-negotiable, Baalu said, "we won't compromise on the guiding principle."

A day after Vandana Shiva and other activists voiced protest against genetically modified food, scores of Indian farmers staged a march demanding that advanced nations should provide them the technology used to produce GM foods.

The Indian farmers also demanded opening up of markets for trade. They asked for support to increase productivity for being able to sell their products at prices that are not distorted by subsidies and quotas.

The demonstrators were led by Varun Mitra, a leader of farmers in the Delhi region.

"I think the controversy in Southern Africa is quite unfortunate because on the one hand you have people in desperate situations, while on the other hand you have food available which is being branded for no reason whatsoever.

"If you look at GM corn, the people in the United States have been eating the corn since 1996. Everyday in the morning hundreds of millions of Americans have been eating the GM corn and so far in the six years there has not been one incident of adverse health impact because of the corn."

Mitra said farmers in developing countries wanted domestic assistance to increase agricultural productivity, action to be taken to ensure that markets were opened up, and food prices were not distorted by subsidies and quotas.

He said, "if you look at any country that has made advances in agriculture they have not only been able to deal with rural poverty but they have also been able to improve the quality of the environment. The two things go together."

On the issue of subsidy, Mitra said farmers in India received negative subsidy because of the indirect costs.

"This fact has even been acknowledged at the WTO and that's the reason why many of the developing countries' farmers would have to have preference because theirs is a negative subsidy and not a positive subsidy like the $350-billion per year which the US and other developed countries seem to be giving their farmers," he added.

Mitra said if multi-national companies don't make available their GM technology then a country like India would produce its own indigenous GM technology.

The Summit also focussed on means to bring fresh water and sanitation to millions who lack access to either with Baalu stressing on affordable availability of water to the poor.

He also expressed Indian concerns on over-exploitation of ground water.

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