Sections of farmers and crop scientists have opposed the commercial cultivation of two herbicide-tolerant basmati rice varieties released by government scientists, saying they may lead to the emergence of superweeds, impact basmati exports and adversely impact farmers.

Over 100 individuals representing farmers’ interests, plant scientists and health activists on Monday asked the Union agriculture ministry to stop the distribution of the two herbicide-tolerant rice varieties launched by the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) last month.

“There will be stiff resistance from farmers and consumers. ICAR will have to face public protests if these herbicide-tolerant varieties are not withdrawn immediately from the market,” the signatories have said in a letter to the agriculture ministry. “There will also be legal opposition through PILs since many matters of public interest have been ignored here.”

The two rice varieties can tolerate the direct application of a herbicide called imazethapyr to eradicate weeds that might grow alongside paddy. Both varieties can be grown by farmers directly in the field without the need for transplanting seedlings from nurseries.

Scientists at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), an ICAR institute, have said that directly seeded rice reduces water usage significantly compared to transplanted rice, saving 33 per cent of the total water requirement. But weeds pose a major challenge to the direcly-seeded rice and the two herbicide-tolerant basmati varieties are intended to address this concern, the IARI scientists said.

But the opponents, in their letter to the ministry, cited concerns about the emergence of superweeds that require the use of more and more chemicals as weed-control technology, chemical residues in that food that will come to consumers, and health impacts on farmers and farm workers when they work in chemically-sprayed fields.

The signatories include Kavitha Kuruganti, a social activist working on sustainable farming, P. Duraisingham, a member of a consumers’ interest group, Soma Marla,
a former principal scientist with an ICAR institution, among others.

The signatories have said imazethapyr has not been legally registered for use in paddy under India’s regulatory regime for insecticides. It is registered for use only on soybean, groundnut, black gram, green gram and red gram.

“How did ICAR take up research and later launch the varieties for commercial cultivation in blatant violation of existing regulations?” they have asked in the letter. “Will India’s regulatory regime now retro-fit this chemical into its registered uses without testing?”

They said imazethapyr has not been approved in 27 countries of the European Union and the UK. Basmati rice is currently exported by India. Several countries in the past have rejected agricultural products from India, citing phytosanitary criteria. “What will be the fate of this herbicide basmati rice from India?” they asked.