AWAITS DECISION
Ministry will decide on February 10.
Bangladesh and
the Philippines are both waiting for India to make up its mind about
Bt Brinjal. India's decision will influence theirs.
Environment
Minister Jairam Ramesh is set to take a decision on February 10.
The two
countries have run their own tests to evaluate the yield and
pest-resistance capacity of Bt Brinjal. But they want India to tell
them if it is safe enough for humans to consume.
As with all
genetically modified foods, Bt Brinjal has aroused enormous
controversy in India, with a number of public advocacy groups
resisting the move to allow its commercial production.
"We are awaiting
India's decision. We are relying on Indian data," Md. Yousuf Mian,
director-general of the state-run Bangladesh Agricultural Research
Institute (BARI) told Hindustan Times from Dhaka.
"Both countries
are looking up to India as a leader since they do not have the
capacity for full-line evaluation of Bt brinjal," Vijay Raghavan,
South Asia regional in-charge of ABSP-2 said, speaking from Hyderabad.
