February 11, 2010 (UCAN): A Catholic bishop, who has been promoting organic faming for decades, has welcomed an Indian government delay in introducing a genetically modified hybrid brinjal or eggplant.

Federal Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh announced the moratorium on BT Brinjal at a press conference in New Delhi, UCA News reports. He ordered independent scientific studies on the plant’s long-term effects on human health and the environment.

The federal government’s Genetic Engineering Approval Committee cleared BT Brinjal for commercial release in October 2009, claiming that it would result in lower usage of pesticides and higher yields.

Bishop Mathew Arackal of Kanjirappally [1] welcomed the decision. He said the Church has demanded “a total ban” on genetically engineered seeds in India for a long time.

“However, a mere moratorium will not help India to achieve food security,” the prelate, who heads the Syro-Malabar Church’s laity commission, told UCA News.

“We have to develop eco-friendly and cost-effective farming. For this, we need to study traditional farmers’ experience and develop sustainable farming practices in the country,” said the 65-year-old prelate, who has motivated thousands of Catholics to undertake organic farming.

Bishop Arackal, who started in 1980 the Peermade Development Society, a cooperative society for marginal farmers in Kerala’s Idukki district, says encouraging genetically modified crops would wipe out “our small and marginal farmers. We have to protect our traditional farmers for the country’s food security.”

The Church would “support any initiative that protects the interests of poor farmers,” the bishop said. In Kerala, the Church has aggressively promoted sustainable agriculture for the past two years, benefiting some 10,000 farmers from all religions, he said.

“We have organized farming communities and encouraged them to make agriculture sustainable,” he added.

Chacko Sebastian, a leading farmer in Kanjirappally diocese, says the moratorium signals that the country may be ready to encourage greener approaches in agriculture.

He told UCA News that the Church’s campaign for sustainable farming has educated Catholics about the potential dangers of introducing BT Brinjal to the Indian market.