www.checkbiotech.org ; www.raupp.info ; www.czu.cz

India has emerged as one of the fastest adopters of biotech crops, occupying
the seventh slot among the 21 nations that have so far planted such crop
varieties since their introduction a decade ago, said a latest study by a
global agency engaged in technology transfer of biotech crops, February
2006.

"India experienced the greatest proportional growth for any biotech crop
globally in 2005, with biotech cotton production soaring by 160%," said the
International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications
(ISAAA) in its latest report, "Global Status on Commercial
Biotech/Genetically Modified Crops: 2005".

Two-thirds, or 14 out of 21, of nations growing biotech crops achieved
so-called "mega-country" status by planting 50,000 hectares or more in 2005.
These included the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China,
Paraguay, India, South Africa, Uruguay, Australia, Mexico, Romania, the
Philippines and Spain.

The growth of biotech crops in developing countries was four times (23%) as
rapid as industrialized countries (5%). About a million farmers planted Bt
cotton in nine states last year, which was a threefold rise over 2004, ISAAA
national coordinator Bhagirath Choudhary said. Bt cotton has had a gene
inserted from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, which produces a protein
toxic to the pink bollworm and other cotton pests; in effect, the plant
manufactures its own pesticide, so does not need to be sprayed.

India registered a threefold increase in Bt cotton acreage last year. "One
thing by and large is clear: the biotech crop has come to stay," said C D
Mayee, chairman of the Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board of the
Indian Council on Agricultural Research (ICAR). Mayee, a cotton expert, said
the expected record cotton output of 24 million to 25 million ton bales this
year was mainly due to higher acreage planted with the Bt variety. "The Bt
cotton variety is likely to account for 20% of cotton production," he said.

Two cotton farmers, S Jaipal Reddy from the Warangal district of Andhra
Pradesh and Rabash Singh Jakhar from the Ferozpur district of Punjab, said
they had gained by switching over to the Bt variety, as the cultivation cost
was reduced by lesser use of pesticide sprays, along with lowered water
usage.

"We are happy with the Bt experience so far. It helps us reduce cultivation
costs and higher yields through less pest attacks," said Reddy, a seasoned
cotton farmer with experience of more than 20 years.

However, both the farmers highlighted the widespread prevalence of spurious
seed varieties, which are selling at a lower price and violating the
prescribed quality norms for such seed varieties.

Mayee, who served as India's agriculture commissioner, said research was on
to develop indigenous biotech cotton varieties. "We are at [the] Tier-II
development stage for biotech cotton seeds and hope to make this a reality
by 2007," he said. He hopes that once Bt seeds are marketed through an
institutional network, a lot of complaints related to the pricing of the
seed variety would automatically get resolved.

"We want to continue to grow [at] more than the double-digit growth recorded
for biotech crops during [the] last decade in [the] next decade too," said
Clive James, chairman and founder of ISAAA.

Bt cotton acreage in India grew by an impressive 160% last year, with
Maharashtra occupying the top slot, followed by Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat,
said the latest survey by an international agency engaged in biotechnology
transfer in the field of agriculture. Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and
Gujarat are the top three states in terms of Bt cotton acreage, the report
said.

In India, Bt cotton acreage rose to 1.3 million hectares in 2005 from
500,000 hectares in 2004. Maharashtra recorded a 195% increase in Bt cotton
acreage to 590,000 hectares in 2005 from a mere 200,000 hectares in the
previous year.

Similarly, Andhra Pradesh recorded a 250% increase in acreage, from 80,000
hectares to 280,000 hectares. In Gujarat, Bt cotton acreage rose by 20,000
hectares to 150,000 during the review period. "The impressive acreage
increase in Andhra Pradesh points to [the] higher adoption of Bt cotton
variety in the state," Choudhary said.

Madhya Pradesh, north zone, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu occupied the slot of
four, five, six and seven respectively. The north zone, which received
approval for Bt cotton in 2005, comprises Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. In
Madhya Pradesh, Bt acreage rose to 145,000 hectares from 85,000 hectares,
while 60,000 hectares came under Bt cotton in the north zone. In Karnataka,
Bt cotton acreage rose to 30,000 hectares in 2005 from 18,000 hectares in
2004 while Tamil Nadu registered 15,000 hectares increase in acreage at
25,000 hectares last year over the pervious year.

In 2005, three companies received permission for large-scale field trials of
biotech cotton with different genes, Choudhary said, adding that the
approval rate may even increase in 2006.

Anticipated adoption of biotech rice in China could significantly impact
adoption rates in India, he said, adding that Iran started growing biotech
rice last year. More European Union countries have started planting biotech
crops, and the number reached five last year with France, the Czech Republic
and Portugal joining the "Bt club" consisting of Germany and Spain, which
accorded approval to biotech crops earlier.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh this year filed a case with the Monopolies and
Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) against Monsanto, contending
that the seed company is charging exorbitant prices from farmers in the
state for genetically modified Bt cotton seeds.

"The four seed companies, under license from Monsanto, are currently
charging a price of Rs1,850 per acre [US$103.40 per hectare] against a
supply of 450 grams of the seed, whereas the farmers who are producing the
seed are paid only Rs250 per acre for 750 grams," State Agriculture Minister
N Raghuveera Reddy said.

The company is charging an abnormally high trait value of Rs1,250 ($28.32)
as a royalty from the farmers for 450g of seed, he said.

"While the company charges [a] royalty of Rs108 for 450 grams of seeds in
America, where it enjoys patent rights, it charges Rs1,250 towards trait
value as it does not have royalty rights in India. The trait value is 300%
of [the] bare seed cost in India," he said.

The minister said Monsanto is supplying Bt cotton seeds in India through a
joint-venture company, Mahyco Monsanto Biotech Ltd, which further has given
licenses to four seed companies - Mahyco, Rasi, Proagro, Nuziveedu - against
a license fee of Rs5 million.

A complaint against Monsanto has already been filed with the commission by
some farmers' associations, the minister said, adding that Andhra Pradesh is
the first state in the country to claim an unfair trade practice against
Monsanto in India. Andhra Pradesh received approval for Bt cotton in 2002,
and of 2.7 million hectares under cotton, nearly 550,000 hectares are of the
Bt variety.

The minister has also appealed to other state governments to join Andhra in
opposing the abnormally high prices for the seed. Reddy, however, made it
clear that the state government's objection is mainly to the pricing
mechanism, not to the Bt cotton technology itself.

[www.atimes.com]

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