Good morning [%first_name |Dear Reader%],

Let’s answer that right away: anyone who wants to make noise for the sake of making noise. 

Monsanto, the champion of genetically modified (GM) seeds and controversial agri practices, is dead. The American biotech company was acquired by Bayer in 2018 (the German agri major is repenting, though) and the brand Monsanto doesn’t exist. But in the name of Big Ag, its ghost might be invoked to thwart what is unarguably a significant move to revive agricultural innovation in India. 

After two years of deliberations, India’s environment ministry has proposed to exempt gene-edited (different from genetically modified) plants from stringent biosafety rules. These are the same rules that had, aided by political compulsions, scuttled a few ready-to-sow GM crops that could have been good additions to Indian agriculture. 

The government’s notification is in the right direction. But two of India’s most notable and accomplished agri biotechnologists, one from the industry and another from academia, are not “celebrating” just yet. They fear we could witness needless legal challenges. 

Which could be unfortunate, because across the world, agriculture is extremely vulnerable to climate change.