Small Farmers To Face Monsanto In Court, Monsanto Opens Seed Breeding Center in India

“If you control the oil, you control the country; if you control the food, you control the popluation.” ~ Henry Kissinger

On Tuesday, January 31, 2012 the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA) will stand before a federal judge in Manhattan to find out if their case will be heard or if the motion to have it dismissed by Monsanto will be upheld.

And in other news…

With a tinge of frustration and anger, Monsanto India’s Managing Director Amitabh Jaipuria clarified that the breeding station inaugurated in Chikkaballapur, India on Monday will not violate the Bio Diversity Act and will be a non-biotech center.

The Rs 25 crore facility will develop and test new hybrid seed varieties of corn, tomatoes, watermelon, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, pepper, onions and beans. With research and development, labs, trial fields and greenhouses under one roof, the breeding station located in Kallinayakanahalli is second of its kind in India, the other being in Aurangabad.

The breeding center is spread over 118 acres of which 100 acres was leased out from local farmers. The remaining 18 acres is owned by Monsanto.

At least 50 households in the vicinity of the station have consented to give away their agricultural fields to Monsanto for testing its hybrid seeds. The process of attaining consent has been purely through legal methods and the farmers have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Monsanto, claimed V K Kishore, R&D Lead – Vegetables.


http://earthfirstnews.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/small-farmers-to-face-monsanto-in-court-monsanto-opens-seed-breeding-center-in-india/