Seed cos rely on Swadeshi tech to offset MNC threat

In a first-of-its-kind private sector collaboration in the domestic seed industry, seven seed manufacturing companies have come together to form a consortium to counteract onslaught of multinational companies on account of the latter's far superior technical edge and marketing capacity.

As part of its mandate, the consortium-- Swarna Bharat Biotechnics Private Limited (SBBPL) formed by seven seed companies from Andhra Pradesh has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a Pune-based CSIR institute National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) to access the "latest and superior biotechnology" to make their cotton seed immune to the deadly bollworm - American (Helicoverpa armigera) and Pink (Spodopetera litura).

The MoU was signed by Y Yogeswara Rao, the managing director of SBBPL, and Dr Rakesh Tuli of NBRI in the presence of state agriculture minister, Vadde Sobhanadreeswara Rao.

An NBRI team led by Dr Tuli have successfully synthesised two Bt genes -- Cry 1Ac and Cry 1 EC -- and transformed cotton with both these genes, thus providing an an-built protection against the cotton lepidopteran pests. They provide protection against bollworms as well as tobacco caterpillar.

Explaining the significance of the alliance, P Sateesh Kumar, the executive director of SBBPL, said the combined access to the novel indigenous biotechnology would help bring down the costs of Bt cotton seed considerably in the future.

Sizing up the threat from bollworm to cotton crop, he said that of the Rs 1,600 crore worth insecticides used every year in the country, cotton crop accounts for Rs 1,600 crore, the major part of which at Rs 1200 crore was spent on the control of bollworms alone.

Sateesh Kumar further informed that the seven companies which formed the consortium -- Nuziveedu Seeds, Ganga Kaveri, Prabhat Agri Biotech, Kaveri Seeds, Pravardhan, Nandi Seeds, Vikkis' Agrotech -- together enjoy 50 per cent share at Rs 300 crore in the proprietary hybrid cotton seed market.

They command 30 per cent share of the total cotton seed market. Over seventy per cent of their turnover is contributed by the proprietory cotton hybrid seed sales.

SBBPL has a mandate to help the member-companies by sourcing and developing tools of biotechnology applicable to crop improvement and also co-ordinate the regulatory work related to commercialisation of transgenic technologies.

The agriculture minister was all praise for the initiative of the seed companies , and exhorted them to utilise the relevant biotechnology for non-cotton seeds as well.

Stating that the use of Bt cotton seed in AP was found to be not so successful by the NG Ranga Agriculture University and the state agriculture departments, he said better varieties needed to be suitably developed for various agro climatic zones in the country.

In this regard, he added that the government had to take action to stop sales by Navabharat Seed Company which was unauthorisedly marketing Bt cotton seed in the state.

He, however, pointed to the growing popularity of Bt cotton and cited large-scale illegal cultivation of the same in Gujarat.

Yogeswara Rao said it would take around three years to complete technology transfer to cotton seeds and commercialise the Bt cotton seed after taking necessary regulatory approvals.

He was confident that the price would be much competitive as compared to that of the Bt cotton seed in the country's market. Tuli claimed that NBRI's technology was superior to that of Monsanto.