The government’s recent moratorium on the commercialisation of Bt (bacillus thuringiensis) brinjal hurts, but the Rs 6,500-crore domestic seed industry is still sees fertile growth from hybrid seeds in crops like rice, corn, mustard and vegetables.
Monsanto, which had collaborated with Indian company Mahyco to develop Bt brinjal and is therefore impacted by the decision, says the company will continue to conduct research in “focus crops” — cotton, corn and vegetables — in compliance with the regulatory protocols.
Others in the business too hope to reap revenues from various other crops. Of the industry's Rs 6,500 crore annual revenue, nearly Rs 4,000 crore of business comes from hybrid seeds, mainly cotton.
The cotton hybrid accounts for nearly Rs 2,000 crore of sales, corn (estimated at Rs 700 crore), sunflower (Rs 250 crore, paddy (Rs 180 crore), bajra (Rs 150 crore) and vegetables (Rs 500 crore) accounting for the rest.
Overall, the seed industry is growing at 15 per cent a year and companies don't see this wilting because of the Bt brinjal moratorium. “In the case of cotton, 80 to 85 per cent of the area has been covered by hybrid seeds, but there are crops for which hybridisation is still low. The industry's growth will come from crops like paddy and corn,” said K V Subbarao, country manager, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, a DuPont subsidiary.
“Hybridisation in paddy is possible on a wide scale, though meeting taste parameters here is a challenge,” said M Harish Reddy of Ganga Kaveri Seeds and general secretary of the National Seed Association of India. “In wheat too, people are trying to get into hybrid,” he added.
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As a result, seed companies remain bullish and are investing extensively on research and development (R&D) so that they continue producing new varieties.
“We are focusing aggressively on R&D because success in seed industry depends on the products a company has in the pipeline. We have already invested Rs 50 crore in research and plan to invest Rs 80-100 crore over next five years,” said Ajay Shriram, chairman and senior managing director, of DCM Shriram Consolidated, whose subsidiary Bioseeds is into seed production.
This is not to say that the Bt brinjal moratorium won't impact investment at all. Reddy pointed out that the government's decision to defer the commercialisation would force several companies to rethink their investments in biotechnology. “It is for the government to decide, but we hope it will allow Bt brinjal in the future,” he said. If that happens, the industry can expect to see the green shoots of a whole new revenue stream.