Andhra firms, Monsanto in tie-up for Bt cotton

Concerned over inordinate delays caused by the regulatory system in the country in their attempt to come out with Bt cotton with 'desi' technology, a few seed companies in Andhra Pradesh have tied up with Mahyco Monsanto India to produce Bt (bacillus thurigiensis) cotton seeds of their popular hybrids. They hope to launch Bt cotton varieties in time for the kharif season in 2005.

Five seed companies "�Prabhat Agri Biotech, Vikkis' Agrotech, Nuziveedu Seeds, Ganga Kaveri and Pravardhan "� have recently tied up with Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (India) Limited and obtained permission from the Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM) to carry out trials on their hybrids implanted with Bt gene. Two more companies "� Nandi Seeds and Kaveri Seeds "� are also reportedly in plans to seek RCGM nod for Bt cotton trials. Bt gene makes cotton immune to the deadly attacks by bollworm "� American (helicoverpa armigera) and pink (spodopetera litura).

It may be noted that the seven companies had earlier formed a consortium 'Swarna Bharat Biotechnics Private Limited' (SBBPL) in October last year and entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Pune-based National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) which had synthesised two Bt genes "� Cry 1Ac and Cry 1 EC.

On the reasons for seeking Monsanto Bt technology, SBBPL executive director P Sateesh Kumar told Business Standard that it would take about three years for NBRI to commercially offer Bt cotton gene to seed companies.

However, with the growing popularity of Bt cotton in the country, SBBPL members had decided to expedite the launch of their own Bt seeds by tying up with Mahyco Monsanto, he said.

Kumar said that regulations on genetically modified (GM) crop in the country were "quite conservative and restrictive as compared to rational and practical policies in the US and the very liberal norms that existed in China".

In India, bio safety of a new gene (transgenic or deregulated) in a specific crop is permitted. But if the same gene is incorporated in a different variety of the same crop, all the bio safety field trials have to be taken up all over again, which takes around three years for completion.

However, in the US once it is permitted in a crop, the genes can be put into any variety of the specific crop without any varietal testing.

"Since a deregulated gene maintains its genomic integrity across all varieties of the crop, bio safety tests for each variety does not provide any additional information but only delays commercialisation of technologies of proven safety," Kumar said.

He pointed out that had the government accorded permission to NBRI in time, the Bt cotton would have been launched at highly competitive rates as compared to the fixed price of Rs 1,600 a packet of seeds as decided by the Monsanto company. Being a government agency, NBRI will charge only a nominal royalty and allow seed companies to be flexible in pricing their products.

On the popularity of Bt cotton in Andhra Pradesh, Kumar said that though the official figures put the Bt cotton acreage at 10,000 in the state, unauthorised Bt cotton is estimated to be cultivated in around 30,000 acres.

The acreage is likely to more than double this year. Higher net farming incomes on account of savings on pesticides and higher yields is attracting a large number of farmers to grow Bt cotton, he said. After taking to Bt cotton, the pesticide expenses, put at Rs 6,000 conservatively, are estimated to have reduced by about 50 per cent.