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V. Ravichandran

Farmer, India

Expert Bio

Mr. V. Ravichandran owns a 60 acre farm at Poongulam Village in Tamil Nadu, India where he grows rice, sugar cane, cotton and pulses (small grains). Mr. Ravichandran is a member of the Truth About Trade & Technology Global Farmer Network and is the 2013 recipient of the Kleckner Trade & Technology Advancement Award.

Studies, Articles and Answers

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Question

Q: How are you suppose to help our world-wide famine issue if your policy around the GMO seeds cause the price in seeds to rise beyond the affordability of a third-world farmer??

Answered By Rosalie Ellasus - Jul 11, 2014

A: “Do judges know better than mothers what their children should eat?“In the Philippines, apparently they do. Or at least they think they do.“Last month, my country’s Court of Appeals stopped field tests on genetically modified eggplants—crops that I would happily feed my own children and grandchildren.“We’ve been eating GM crops for years. I grow them on my farm in San Jacinto during the dry season. They’re such excellent crops that I plant them on the 12 hectares that I own, and also rent an additional 3.5 hectares.“I’ve also grown eggplants. They’re the leading vegetable crop in the Philippi [...]

Answered By Gilbert Arap Bor - Jul 11, 2014

A:  “As we begin a new year, we often express our hope for the future. In Kenya, there is hope that 2014 will bring a lifting of the ban on GM imports and mark the first time Kenyan farmers will have access to important tools of agricultural technology that have been withheld from them.“One of the world’s great scientific hoaxes has been ratted out.“That’s the good news. The bad news is that his false claims already have done enormous damage to the cause of food security—and it will take a big effort to undo the harm here in Kenya and elsewhere.“The story began more than a year ago, when th [...]

Answered By V. Ravichandran - Jul 11, 2014

A: “…Climate change is having a bad influence as well: Cyclone Phailin has dumped an enormous amount of rain on India, but last year we had almost drought-like conditions in many parts of India. The success or failure of our farming is monsoon dependent. The monsoons that traditionally provide normal levels of precipitation have become less dependable, and we don’t have precise weather prediction that would enable us to plan our farming strategy.“All of this puts our food security at risk. In a nation of more than one billion citizens, the stakes are high indeed.“If we’re going to be serious abo [...]

Answered By Rosalie Ellasus - Jul 11, 2014

A: “Do judges know better than mothers what their children should eat?“In the Philippines, apparently they do. Or at least they think they do.“Last month, my country’s Court of Appeals stopped field tests on genetically modified eggplants—crops that I would happily feed my own children and grandchildren.“We’ve been eating GM crops for years. I grow them on my farm in San Jacinto during the dry season. They’re such excellent crops that I plant them on the 12 hectares that I own, and also rent an additional 3.5 hectares.“I’ve also grown eggplants. They’re the leading vegetable crop in the Philippi [...]

Answered By Gilbert Arap Bor - Jul 11, 2014

A:  “As we begin a new year, we often express our hope for the future. In Kenya, there is hope that 2014 will bring a lifting of the ban on GM imports and mark the first time Kenyan farmers will have access to important tools of agricultural technology that have been withheld from them.“One of the world’s great scientific hoaxes has been ratted out.“That’s the good news. The bad news is that his false claims already have done enormous damage to the cause of food security—and it will take a big effort to undo the harm here in Kenya and elsewhere.“The story began more than a year ago, when th [...]

Answered By V. Ravichandran - Jul 11, 2014

A: “…Climate change is having a bad influence as well: Cyclone Phailin has dumped an enormous amount of rain on India, but last year we had almost drought-like conditions in many parts of India. The success or failure of our farming is monsoon dependent. The monsoons that traditionally provide normal levels of precipitation have become less dependable, and we don’t have precise weather prediction that would enable us to plan our farming strategy.“All of this puts our food security at risk. In a nation of more than one billion citizens, the stakes are high indeed.“If we’re going to be serious abo [...]

Business Practices GMOs & Farmers

Question

Q: How are you suppose to help our world-wide famine issue if your policy around the GMO seeds cause the price in seeds to rise beyond the affordability of a third-world farmer??

Answered By Rosalie Ellasus - Jul 11, 2014

A: “Do judges know better than mothers what their children should eat?“In the Philippines, apparently they do. Or at least they think they do.“Last month, my country’s Court of Appeals stopped field tests on genetically modified eggplants—crops that I would happily feed my own children and grandchildren.“We’ve been eating GM crops for years. I grow them on my farm in San Jacinto during the dry season. They’re such excellent crops that I plant them on the 12 hectares that I own, and also rent an additional 3.5 hectares.“I’ve also grown eggplants. They’re the leading vegetable crop in the Philippi [...]

Answered By Gilbert Arap Bor - Jul 11, 2014

A:  “As we begin a new year, we often express our hope for the future. In Kenya, there is hope that 2014 will bring a lifting of the ban on GM imports and mark the first time Kenyan farmers will have access to important tools of agricultural technology that have been withheld from them.“One of the world’s great scientific hoaxes has been ratted out.“That’s the good news. The bad news is that his false claims already have done enormous damage to the cause of food security—and it will take a big effort to undo the harm here in Kenya and elsewhere.“The story began more than a year ago, when th [...]

Answered By V. Ravichandran - Jul 11, 2014

A: “…Climate change is having a bad influence as well: Cyclone Phailin has dumped an enormous amount of rain on India, but last year we had almost drought-like conditions in many parts of India. The success or failure of our farming is monsoon dependent. The monsoons that traditionally provide normal levels of precipitation have become less dependable, and we don’t have precise weather prediction that would enable us to plan our farming strategy.“All of this puts our food security at risk. In a nation of more than one billion citizens, the stakes are high indeed.“If we’re going to be serious abo [...]

Answered By Rosalie Ellasus - Jul 11, 2014

A: “Do judges know better than mothers what their children should eat?“In the Philippines, apparently they do. Or at least they think they do.“Last month, my country’s Court of Appeals stopped field tests on genetically modified eggplants—crops that I would happily feed my own children and grandchildren.“We’ve been eating GM crops for years. I grow them on my farm in San Jacinto during the dry season. They’re such excellent crops that I plant them on the 12 hectares that I own, and also rent an additional 3.5 hectares.“I’ve also grown eggplants. They’re the leading vegetable crop in the Philippi [...]

Answered By Gilbert Arap Bor - Jul 11, 2014

A:  “As we begin a new year, we often express our hope for the future. In Kenya, there is hope that 2014 will bring a lifting of the ban on GM imports and mark the first time Kenyan farmers will have access to important tools of agricultural technology that have been withheld from them.“One of the world’s great scientific hoaxes has been ratted out.“That’s the good news. The bad news is that his false claims already have done enormous damage to the cause of food security—and it will take a big effort to undo the harm here in Kenya and elsewhere.“The story began more than a year ago, when th [...]

Answered By V. Ravichandran - Jul 11, 2014

A: “…Climate change is having a bad influence as well: Cyclone Phailin has dumped an enormous amount of rain on India, but last year we had almost drought-like conditions in many parts of India. The success or failure of our farming is monsoon dependent. The monsoons that traditionally provide normal levels of precipitation have become less dependable, and we don’t have precise weather prediction that would enable us to plan our farming strategy.“All of this puts our food security at risk. In a nation of more than one billion citizens, the stakes are high indeed.“If we’re going to be serious abo [...]

Business Practices GMOs & Farmers

Question

Q: do you think GM foods are more harmful or helpful?

Answered By Kelly Manton-Pearce - Oct 01, 2015

A: There is currently a debate in our state to remove legislation that restricts the growing of GM food. I hope it’s overturned: Farmers in Western Australia should enjoy all the tools of modern agriculture, especially the ones that have proven so popular and effective in the Western hemisphere, from Canada in the north to Argentina in the south.   This would represent progress. Unfortunately, we may have to endure regress. The states of South Australia and Tasmania continue to ban GM farming. If a Labor government comes to power in the next Western Australian state election they have [...]

Answered By Community Manager - Oct 01, 2015

A: The following responses are excerpts of farmer perspectives about GM crops that can be used for food, which were shared by the Truth About Trade & Technology Global Farmer Network. [...]

Answered By Gilbert Arap Bor - Oct 01, 2015

A: In Tanzania, researchers have figured out how to improve the cassava through biotechnology—a development that everyone ought to celebrate and promote.   This progress comes at a good time because the cassava brown-streak virus has become the leading threat to food security in many parts of East Africa. One study says that the disease can slash a farm’s productivity by as much as 70 percent. When it strikes, many smallholder farmers simply abandon their fields—and each time that happens, Africa’s dire food problems grow a little bit worse.   Biotechnology offers a potentia [...]

Answered By V. Ravichandran - Oct 01, 2015

A: Years ago, India accepted biotechnology in agriculture when it commercialized GM cotton. At that moment, it looked like we might become full participants in a new wave of progress. Today, more than 95 percent of India’s cotton is genetically modified to resist insect pests.   This was a welcome start, but small in scale. Only a tiny minority of India’s farmers grows cotton. The rest of us produce other crops, and are yet to taste the benefit of GM crops as we try to feed a nation of more than 1.2 billion people.   Yet as farmers in North and South America pressed forward [...]

Answered By Carol Keiser - Oct 01, 2015

A: Since citrus greening showed up about a decade ago, Florida’s orange production has fallen by about half—and if it falls much more, the citrus business may become economically unsustainable. Our oranges won’t come from Florida anymore.   More than orange juice is at stake. After squeezing, a lot of the leftover pulp becomes feed for my cattle—not only is it good for them, but it allows us to use citrus in multiple ways. Nothing goes to waste, in accordance with the principles of sustainable agriculture.   Growers have tried to fight citrus greening in every way imaginable [...]

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