Reclaiming Seed Sovereignty: GMO Dispositif and Bikaneri Narma Bt Cotton in India

• In Event: 485 - Section on Sociology of Development Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 01. Environment, Technology and Knowledge

Abstract

I explore the Foucauldian notion of GMO dispositif as a tool to understand the inter-connected agronomic, political, and ethical issues connected with the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in agriculture. I illustrate the concept of the ‘GMO dispositif’ by discussing the case of Bikaneri Narma Bt cotton seed in India. Bikaneri Narma Bt seed was hailed as a means to recover India’s lost seed sovereignty in the cotton seed sector. I explain how the GMO dispositif can help us in constructing a politics regarding seeds that meet the needs of the current conjuncture.

Author

• Devparna Roy, University of Puget Sound