Comments
The Federation of Seed Industry for India (FSII) has urged the Union and State governments to rein in illegal seed producers who are marketing unapproved HTBt (herbicide tolerant Bt cottonseeds) in various States.
Stating that the sale of illegal seeds is assuming serious proportions, the association said farmers must have spent ₹500 crore last year on buying the packets at a whopping cost of ₹1,500 each.
“We demand portable kits be made available with agricultural field officers to test cottonseed production areas and destroy crops where HTBt is found,” it said.
The association, which represents research-based seed companies with an aggregate seed sales of over ₹5,000 crore, said rampant sale of illegal HTBt cottonseeds is causing losses to seed companies, the government and to the farmers.
The FSII has estimated that about 90 lakh packets (of 450 gm each) of cottonseed would flood the market this year, covering nearly 20 per cent of the 120 lakh hectares of cotton area in the country.
It alleged that the sale of illegal HTBt seeds is sharply increasing in the last few years and illegal HTBt seeds are being grown in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
High prices
“About 30 lakh packets of illegal HTBt cotton were sold in 2020. This went up to 75 lakh packets in 2021 and it is expected to cross the 90-lakh mark this kharif,” Ram Kaundinya, Director-General of FSII, said.
“The success of Bt cotton has raised hope for farmers to adopt the next technology - HTBt cotton. Since regulatory approvals for HTBt cotton are pending, farmers in India have not been able to legally adopt it,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.
For the past three years, farmer organisations have been illegally growing it across the country, he said.
“Due to the presence of herbicide trait and the trait to control pink bollworm as claimed by the illegal operators on their packs, this illegal HTBt cotton marketed under several brand names is sold for almost ₹1,500 for one packet. This is much higher than the price fixed by the government,” he said.
Shivendra Bajaj, Executive Director of FSII, felt that the farmers buying the illegal seed were at a risk as there was no accountability.
“The government is losing revenue in terms of tax collection and it is threatening the entire legal cotton seed market in the country. It is very difficult to control once it enters the market. It must be contained in the production fields, ginning factories and warehouses,” he said.
Indian regulatory process
Indian cotton growers have been cultivating the HTBt cottonseed, which is illegal since the Centre has not authorised it for commercial sale, over the past four years. They have been growing the illegal seeds, despite warning from governments, as they are looking for cotton varieties that can help them tackle the menaces of insects and pests such as pink bollworm.
India last approved a genetic variety for commercial sale in 2006. Since that, a host of problems have surrounded the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops, including a 10-year moratorium imposed by the Supreme Court in 2009.
Currently, the States will have to approve field trials of genetically-modified crops before they can be considered for commercial sale. This, in particular, has grounded any development on the GM crops front.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.