The Hindu

Mangalore, Mar 23: Farmers of Mittabagilu in Belthangady taluk of Dakshina Kannada district have decided not to use genetically modified seeds for the next khariff crop. It is the first village in the State to make such decision.

President of Guruvainakere-based NGO Nagarika Seva Trust told presspersons here on Thursday that Mittabagilu was one of the few villages in the country that had sustained cultivation and protection of over 52 traditional varieties of paddy.

Campaign

The "Week of rice action" campaign would begin in village on Tuesday and the farmers would jointly give a call to reject genetically modified seeds of multinational companies, he said.

As a part of the campaign a one-day seminar would be held on Tuesday, he said, adding that NGOs working in the area of paddy protection in Tamil Nadu and Kerala would participate in it. Organic farming expert from Tamil Nadu Nammalvar would be the main resource person, Mr. Nayak said.

Economist B.M. Kumaraswamy said that the agreement on agriculture of the WTO had allowed multinational companies to patent most of the paddy varieties. The entire paddy production in the country would be in the domain of MNCs soon, he said.