Illegal Bt cotton seeds still circulate among farmers

Sale of unpacked seeds do not attract penal action, thus paving the way for irregularities

Though the state government has been taking several measures to check illegal sale of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton seeds, the seeds have been reaching farmers either through traders or farmers retaining the seeds of the previous year.

It has been revealed that use of Bt cotton seeds effectively tackles the Bollworm disease, which causes the biggest damage to the cotton crop.

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

Being a hybrid seed, it is imperative that fresh seeds are used every year to ensure best results and check scattering of the characteristics of the seeds.

This year, another company, Rasi Seeds, has been granted permission to commercially sell Bt cotton seeds in Gujarat.

However, raids conducted by the state agriculture department have shown that Bt cotton seeds other than those supplied by Mahyco-Monsanto were being circulated among farmers.

"Of the 200 raids carried out in 2003-04, there were about 28 cases where irregularities were found," said A G Dixit, director, ministry of agriculture, Gujarat.

"Bt cotton cultivation is a crucial issue, not only because use of Bt Cotton seeds has greatly enhanced the productivity of cotton by acting effectively against Bollworm, but also because of the fact that if the use of Bt Cotton seeds is not monitored effectively, it could even turn soil sterile in extreme cases," Dixit said.

He said according to the law, any company wishing to introduce Bt Cotton into the market ought to take approval from a committee which studies various impacts of the product before giving an approval.

At present, Mahyco-Monsanto and Rasi Seeds are permitted to commercially sell Bt Cotton seeds in entire Gujarat state.

A 450-gram packet of Bt Cotton seeds costs Rs 1,600 and a packet is enough to sow over an area of one acre.

In the 2002 season, 18,632 packets were sold in Gujarat, meaning that authorised Bt cotton seeds were sown over an area of 18,632 acres. In the subsequent year (2003 season), authorised Bt Cotton seeds were sown over an area of 1.04 lakh acres, a rise of more than five times.

The overall cotton production last year was 40 lakh bales.

"However, it will not be possible to say exactly over how much area Bt cotton seeds were sown, because there have also been cases where irregularities have occurred," Dixit said.

But the agriculture ministry also is bogged down because of lack of a forceful legislation. According to provisions of the Seeds Act, no action can be taken if the seeds are sold loose (without being packed and sealed).

"But we still have carried out several raids and collected samples. In all, 60,000 kgs of seeds were seized last year during raids," Dixit said.

The director said as soon as stocks of the seeds are seized, they are tested using instant analysing kits, which give a fair idea whether the seeds are Bt positive or negative.

Then, samples are send to the Central Institute of Cotton Research at Nagpur for confirmation.

If traces of Bt are found, action is initiated against the erring trader under provisions of the Environment Protection Act.

"Gujarat's farmers have been using cotton hybrids for over two decades now. They know that fresh seeds are to be used every year," said Dixit.