Andhra study defends Bt cotton's merit

Defending the poor show of Bt cotton's transgenic varieties in Andhra Pradesh, a report by Hyderabad-based Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU) said lack of effective monitoring and extension are the reasons for this poor show of Bt cotton's transgenic varieties.

A Padma Raju, director (research) of ANGRAU, who submitted the report to the state government a few days ago, has come out strongly in support of the Bt cotton technology, citing both scientific and empirical data.

The bad crop reported by transgenic varieties comes close on the heels of the decision of Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) to disallow commercial cultivation of three varieties of Mahyco's Bt cotton seeds in Andhra Pradesh a couple of days ago.

ANGRAU, which conducted an economic survey on Bt cotton crops in the state from 2002-03, has found that farmers who chose transgenic varieties were unaware of basic details pertaining to the performance and limitations of these varieties.

"Though it is a known fact that Bt protection lasts for only 90 days and beyond that one has to resort to pesticide spray, this information was not passed on to the farmers. Hence the bad crop," the report said.

The report observed that the farmers should be educated about this new technology and agronomic practices associated with it.

Contradicting the findings of a study by Centre of Sustainable Agriculture that said farmers should not opt for transgenic varieties, the report said that survey results of ANGRAU clearly show that farmers benefited from the cultivation of Bt cotton.

The report also allayed fears of toxicity and other adverse impacts on account of the propagation of Bt gene.

"The non-toxic nature of Bt protein has been proved beyond doubt in tests conducted on humans and experimental animals. The protein does not cause any allergenic reactions in humans. Research results also clearly show that there is no horizontal transfer of Bt genes in the soil, thus causing no environmental concerns," it stated.

However, the high cost of Bt cotton seed has remained an important concern in the way of transferring the saving on pest management to the income of farmers.

"Though the adoption of Bt cotton reduces the plant protection costs by more than 50 per cent, the high seed cost makes the cultivation cost higher," the report revealed.

Ironically, with the increase in demand for Bt cotton seed, which has been fueled by the unavailability of Mahyco seed in the market, Rasi is already said to have hiked its per bag (450 grams) price by Rs 200 to Rs 1,800.

This has led to a situation where it is believed that some of the farmers in Andhra Pradesh have been paying even up to Rs 2,500 for Bt cotton seed in the black market.

This means that the cost benefit between a Bt cotton and a normal hybrid variety is further reduced.

The report also warned against the influx of spurious Bt cotton seeds in the future as the area under cultivation is going to increase.

In fact, Andhra Pradesh has already become a fertile ground for supply of unauthorised Bt cotton, the crop area of which has been many times more than that of the licenced varieties.

According to the initial study (2003-04) on the performance of MECH 12, the average per hectare Bt cotton cultivation cost was estimated to be Rs 17,061, while the same with regard to non-Bt cotton cultivation cost was estimated to be Rs 18,782.

Similarly, per hectare yield was also found to be higher in Bt cotton (23.68 quintals/ha) as compared to non-Bt (20.01 quintals/ha), thus leading to Rs 10,965 per hectare (37 per cent) higher net returns from Bt cotton as compared to non-Bt varieties.

While commenting on the unsatisfactory performance of Bt cotton varieties such as MECH 12, MECH 162 and MECH 184 in the state, the report observed that the genetic background of the cotton genotypes chosen for backcrossing by Mahyco for Bt gene introduction was not well suited for many cotton-growing areas of the country like Warangal in Andhra Pradesh.

"This problem is partly addressed by the new hybrid from Rasi, RCH2 Bt, that has performed very well in most of the areas including Warangal in contrast to the Mahyco hybrids," the report said.