NEW DELHI: Several members of Parliament will address a farmers' rally here on Tuesday against sale and distribution of genetically modified crops and seeds in general and Bt brinjal in particular. Bt brinjal is the first GM food crop which will be approved for a second and final season trial before commercialisation.

The “Coalition for a GM-free India,” which will organise the rally, represents farmers’ unions, environmental organisations, organic farming groups and women’s organisations.

It has one of the largest membership of practising ecological farmers.

Farmers from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh will participate. Consumers from Delhi are also expected to join the farmers in the protest against the government and big agribusiness corporations.

Large-scale trials

“In India, we are standing on the verge of the first GM food crop, Bt brinjal, being approved for the second [and probably last] year large-scale trials this kharif 2008. It is at this juncture that this protest, a symbol of the building resistance against GM crops, is being organised for an informed debate on genetically modified crops as food safety is an issue that concerns all of us,” said Kavitha Kuruganti, Coalition member-secretary.

The Tamil Nadu-based Indian Farmers and Toilers Party said AIADMK MPs V. Maitreyan and K. Malaisamy would participate in the rally.