Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 3 • Number 8 • 1st May 2003
BT Cotton Remains Highly Controversial in India
Controversy continues to rage over the cultivation of Bt cotton in India following serious doubts raised by the Agriculture Ministry’s Standing Parliamentary Committee regarding the crop’s efficacy. The cotton variety, genetically modified to resist bollworm, has also come under strong criticism from civil society groups who released findings to show that the crop had failed to deliver the promised results. Meanwhile, India’s Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) rejected an application to plant a new variety of Bt cotton in the North of the country.
According to a report tabled by the Standing Parliamentary Committee in the Indian Parliament on 25 April, Bt cotton appeared to perform “only marginally” better than conventional varieties, both in terms of productivity and resistance to bollworm infection. “Taking into consideration the high cost of Bt cotton seeds and the need for more application of fertiliser and water for its cultivation, the Committee finds that farmers who have grown Bt cotton have been put to loss in most of the places,” the report concluded. The Committee asked the government to set up an independent team of experts to re-evaluate the variety’s economic viability and possible environmental impact. The cotton variety — the first commercially grown GM crop in India — had received conditional approval for cultivation in March 2002 amid widespread protests by anti-GM activists.
Ten days earlier, the India-based non-governmental organisation Gene Campaign presented field data showing that the first harvest of Bt cotton had failed. The study was conducted in 16 villages and involved interviews with 100 farmers in Andhra Pradesh and Yavatmal in Maharashtra. According to Gene Campaign, the Bt cotton plant had proven to be weaker than traditional cotton, with a smaller and lower-quality yield, and according to the group, “angry cotton farmers are vowing that they will not grow Bt cotton again”. The Gene Campaign study also showed that Bt cotton proved to be significantly more expensive than traditional varieties, leaving farmers in debt. Calling the failure of Bt cotton “bitter and widespread”, Gene Campaign further noted that mandatory regulatory authorities had not been set up in Indian states allowing the cultivation of Bt cotton, and called for a criminal investigation into the matter. The group also demanded that Monsanto pay compensation to farmers that had suffered losses due to Bt cotton. The demands were echoed by G. Ananthapadmanabhan, Executive Director of Greenpeace India, who called for “Bt cotton [to] be withdrawn in time for the next season to be GM-free”.
The above findings contradict conclusions reached by Mahyco-Monsanto (India) Ltd, the company that developed the first GM cotton grown in India. The company claimed that the use of the three Bt cotton varieties approved for commercial release had increased farmers’ incomes by Rs 7,000 per acre (approx. Rs 17,500 per hectare), and had led to a reduction in pesticide use by 65-70 percent while increasing yields by 30 percent.
In related developments, the GEAC has rejected an application for commercial cultivation of a new variety of Bt cotton, developed by Mahyco-Monsanto, in India’s North. The decision was based on concerns that the variety was highly sensitive to the leaf curl virus, which was common in that region. Regarding the performance of already approved Bt cotton varieties, GEAC chairperson Sushma Choudhary confirmed that reports had been received showing that Bt cotton had not performed well in some areas. However, she added that GEAC would not withdraw its conditional approval for cultivation at this stage as “more time should be given to assess the performance of Bt cotton in the regions where it has been approved”.
“Field Data On India’s First Bt Cotton Harvest,” GENE CAMPAIGN PR, 15 April 2003; “Monsanto Unfazed over Rejection of Genetically Modified Cotton,” AP, 26 April 2003; “Regulator says no to Bt cotton cultivation,” FINANCIAL EXPRESS, 25 April 2003; “Panel questions efficacy of Bt cotton,” HINDU, 26 April 2003; ” ‘Bt cotton raised farm income’,” REDIFF, 23 April 2003.