Campaign against fake Bt cotton seeds

Authorities in the Saurashtra region have launched a campaign against illegal sale of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton seeds to farmers.

Illegal and inferior quality Bt cotton seeds are still circulated among farmers in Surendranagar, Bhavnagar and Rajkot districts where cotton is cultivated over large areas, officials said.

Industry sources said fake seeds worth over Rs 2 crore are sold in the region. As the quality of fake Bt cotton seeds is inferior, farmers have experienced crop failure in the past. Following this, the farmers are hesitating to grow more cotton in the region, officials said.

Those who sell illegal Bt cotton seeds are misleading farmers through advertisements, Manshukhbhai Bhungani, assistant agriculture controller (quality control), Rajkot Seed Corporation, said. He advised farmers to buy Bt cottonseeds certified and approved by the Indian government.

"We have launched a campaign against fake and unauthorized Bt cotton seeds. We are arranging meetings with farmers at village and tehsil levels to create awareness against such seeds," he said.

In May-June 2002, the central government gave Mahyco-Monsanto permission to sell Bt Cotton seeds in six states of the country.