The Hindu Business Line : Bt cotton pricing puts farmers in a spot

Even as weathermen forecast the arrival of monsoon on schedule, cotton farmers in Andhra Pradesh find themselves in a difficult situation with the issue of pricing of Bt cotton yet to be decided.

If rains come on schedule, the farmers would go for sowing in the second week of June.

MRTPC order

As a result of the delay, the procurement of Bt seeds has not yet begun, with companies unable to decide on the final pricing of the seed packet. Last season, a packet of 450 gm was sold at Rs 1,850, including Rs 1,250 of trait value paid to Mahyco-Monsanto Biotech.

But this time, the trait value is likely to be reduced drastically, following the order of MRTPC (Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission) that directed the company to peg the trait value around what they charged in the US (Rs 108) and China (Rs 34). The Commission, however, gave the company a month's time to arrive at a decision.

While the officials of the Agriculture Department are reportedly talking to Monsanto and seed manufacturers to decided on pricing, farmers' association have decided to put pressure on the Government to end the uncertainty.

Wait, says Govt

Incidentally, the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, has asked the farmers not to buy the seeds at a high price. "We are holding discussions on this (pricing issue)," he said recently.

Mr Kolli Nageswara Rao, the leader of CPI-affiliated Andhra Pradesh Ryotu Sangam, had demanded that Monsanto reduce the seed price, obliging the MRTPC direction. Incidentally, the commission gave the order acting on the petition filed by Mr Nageswara Rao.

He said Mr A.B. Bardhan, CPI General-Secretary, would meet Mr Sharad Pawar, Union Agriculture Minister, appealing him to intervene and resolve the pricing issue soon. He appealed to the farmers to wait for four-five days and not to buy the Bt seeds at a higher cost.

Threaten stir

Mr S. Malla Reddy, General-Secretary of CPM-affiliated AP Rythu Sangham, has threatened that the association would hold dharnas in front of MRO offices on May 31 and June 1, demanding that Monsanto should not charge a trait value more than it charged in the US.

A representative of a Bt seed company told Business Line that it was helpless on the issue of pricing. "We are waiting for the company to take a decision on the trait value. Only then, we can fix the price," he said.

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