A few days back, Atul Ganatra, president of the Cotton Association of India, presented a grim scenario of the crop's prospects in the 2024-25 season that starts in October. Addressing the association's annual general meeting, Ganatra said the area under the crop could go down by at least 10 per cent in the coming season due to falling yields and realisation, leading to farmers losing interest. The fear of a decline in acreage comes against the backdrop of India's cotton production probably falling to its lowest in a decade, according to estimates.
Mahyco confident of regulatory approvals, plans launch within a year.
Data on clinical trials of genetically-modified brinjal have been made public by the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee of the environment ministry.
The environment ministry is likely to allow generic modification of food crops.
The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) is all set to file the country's firstever bio-piracy criminal case against companies involved in developing BT Brinjal by using its local variety, a top official said.
By embargoing Bt brinjal, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh may have done a greater service to democracy than he intended, says Praful Bidwai.
If the government takes a progressive view and the industry co-operates for arriving at a pricing mechanism, it will be a win-win for all, Raju Barwale, managing director of Mahyco (Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company Ltd), tells Dilip Kumar Jha.
Bacillus Thuringiensis Brinjal, popularly known as Bt brinjal, is at the centre of a major controversy in India. Bt brinjal, a genetically modified strain created by India's number one seeds company Mahyco in collaboration with American multinational Monsanto, claims to improve yields and help the agriculture sector.
Even though the supporters of GM foods have ample arguments to counter the robust opposition to Bt brinjal, Jairam Ramesh's current tour shows that the seed companies who are eyeing the Indian market may not find the going very easy.
'I believe that the world is headed for the biggest health crisis ever because of the lack of transparency.'
Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company Ltd (Mahyco), the seed partner of multinational agro-biotech major Monsanto Corporation, has moved the Delhi High Court against a Central Information Commission order seeking details of the safety test data generated during clinical trials of its genetically modified (GM) brinjal, the first GM edible crop to be introduced in India.
Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission on Thursday issued notice of enquiry against Monsanto and its fully owned Indian subsidiary Mahyco for ignoring its direction asking them to reduce the trait value of transgenic Bt cotton seeds.
The whitefly outbreak has intensified a debate over GM crops just as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office reviews a proposal to allow farmers to grow GM mustard.
Such a drastic intervention overrides existing private bilateral commercial contracts
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