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Gene-altered cotton brings hope to Indian farmers

Thomas Kutty Abraham

Farmers have hailed government's nod for the commercial production of genetically modified cotton, after a protracted controversy, welcoming it as a miracle solution for hard-hit cotton growers.

"It's certain to change the fortunes of the cotton industry," said Ishwarbhai Patel, a cotton farmer in Idar, a drought-prone town in Gujarat. "It's a huge relief for us because spending on pesticides was so much."

The arrival of Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) cotton has huge significance because the country devotes nine million hectares to growing cotton -- more than any other country -- but whose yields are much lower.

The difference is that Bt cotton, marketed as "Bollguard", virtually eliminates spending on pesticides and promotes higher yields, promising to be more profitable than most other crops.

The gene-altered cotton in a two-acre (one hectare) plot owned by Patel bears testimony to the virtues of Bt cotton. It has sturdy branches and lush leaves -- a stark contrast to the moth-eaten leaves of the local variety he has grown nearby.

Traders said the introduction of Bt cotton could enhance India's cotton output by as much as 25 per cent in three or four years from nearly 1.6 crore (16 million) bales (each weighing 170 kg) now.

Each hectare under cotton produces about 300 kg compared with a world average of 650 kg. Bt cotton seeds would yield 30 to 40 per cent more than non-GM hybrids and require 70 per cent less pesticide to control the bollworm, the most common pest attacking Indian cotton, experts said.

Cotton belt revival

Idar, a small town surrounded by rocky mountains in Gujarat, grew mainly cotton in the late 1960s and 1970s. But high production costs and minimal returns forced Patel and other villagers to give it up for more lucrative crops such as groundnut and coarse cereals.

Now that a domestic company, collaborating with US-based Monsanto Inc, has been allowed to produce and sell Bt cotton, farmers hope Idar will regain its status as a producer of the fibre.

"Word is spreading fast that Bt is good," said Jagdip Shah, a farmer who also sells pesticides. "Idar could again be a cotton belt provided enough Bt seeds are made available."

Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company Ltd (Mahyco) supplies Bt cotton seeds under the brandname "Bollguard" to farmers across the nation, except for three states in the north.

Approval was granted to GM cotton after years of trials and strong opposition from environmentalists and pro-organic farm lobbyists who argue the technology could weaken the in-built resistance of soil to pests, besides making users perpetually dependent on the company for seeds.

"Bt cotton development in India has been a one-sided research programme and raw data has not been made public," said Ganesh Nochur, campaign director for Greenpeace in India.

"Farmers' acceptability of the new seeds alone should not be the criteria to judge the technology. They are poor and caught in neck-deep debt and hence would latch on to any survival options."

Patel, who has planted Bt cotton on only two acres of his total holding of 25 acres, is thrilled with the results. "I plan to divert more areas to Bt cotton next season," he said.

In all, Bt cotton has been planted on an estimated 105,000 acres of land in its first year of introduction.

By contrast, neighbouring China, the world's top producer of cotton, planted some 1.5 million hectares of GM cotton in 2001, or 30 per cent of the total crop, from less than 100,000 hectares in 1998.

Better tomorrow

Mayhco Monsanto Biotech Ltd, a joint venture between Mayhco and Monsanto to market gene-altered seeds, plans to scale up the supply of seeds to cover an area of up to one million acres during the planting season starting May 2003.

Authorities in Gujarat destroyed gene-altered cotton in an estimated 10,000 hectares in 2001 after the farmers were discovered to have sown seeds illegally supplied by a private firm.

"The controversy last year spread awareness about the advantages of Bt cotton. So farmers were jubilant finally when the government approved it," said Shah.

"Whatever may be the controversy, these cotton seeds have dared us to think of a better tomorrow," said Patel.

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