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The Tamil Nadu (India) government has brought the Bt Cotton seed issue back
into focus by banning the sale of seeds from Mahyco over complaints of crop
failure in Dharmapuri district. Bt Cotton varieties made by the Indian seed
major had earlier been blacklisted by Andhra Pradesh after crop failures in
the 2004 kharif season, February 2007.

In Dharmapuri, thousands of farmers are in distress. They told the
district collector that their Bt Cotton crop failed due to sub-standard
seeds. "Cotton crop on at least 2,500 acres (1,012 hectares) has failed and
about 2,000 farmers affected.

Prima facie, it seems that the seeds are responsible," says Pankaj Kumar
Bansal, Dharmapuri's district magistrate.

The state government has taken serious note of the problem and ordered an
enquiry. "Mahyco has been asked not to sell any seed in the state till the
enquiry concludes. They should also compensate affectedd farmers," says
Veerapandi S Arumugam, Tamil Nadu agriculture minister.

The anti-GM lobby in the state is happy over the ban. "After the failure in
Andhra Pradesh, Bt has failed yet again. Such failures of genetic
engineering (GE) technology are always at the cost of poor farmers. The
aggressive marketing tactics of the seed companies is the sole reason behind
further spreading of Bt cotton even after repeated failures," says Rajesh
Krishnan, GE campaigner, Greenpeace.

It is still not clear, however, whether the Dharmapuri crop failure can be
blamed on substandard seeds. Citing one case, Surjit K Chaudhury, the Tamil
Nadu agriculture secretary, says that a farmer obtained 15 quintal of cotton
from an acre, netting a profit of Rs 54,000 (1,226 USD) after deducting the
seed cost of Rs 6,000 (136 USD) per acre.

The failure could also be attributed to wrong agricultural practices and
inadequate support from the company. "Either you sell your seed with usage
instructions or if it fails, give compensation," says Chaudhury, who is also
agriculture productivity commissioner. Mahyco does not deny the crop failure
in Dharmapuri. But it maintains its seeds have anything to do with it.
"There is a wilting problem but it is not necessarily because of seeds. We
have instructions written in the inside of each packet. For compensation,
the government has formed a committee. Very soon we will decide on it,"
clarifies Sanjay Despande, deputy general manager, Mahyco.

Earlier, in 2006, Monsanto's licensee, Mahyco Monsanto Biotech India Limited
(MMB), was charging Rs 1,250 (28 USD) as 'trait value' (another name for
royalty) out of the prevailing rate of Rs 1,800 (41 USD) for 450-gramme
packets. The Andhra government fixed the price of seeds at Rs 750 (17 USD)
for 450 grammes. When Monsanto refused to comply, Andhra Pradesh took the
issue to the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC)
in January 2006. In its interim order on May 10, 2006, MRTPC asked MMB to
reduce the 'trait value'. The company then moved the Supreme Court.

The final hearing on the issue in MRTPC is scheduled. Thereafter the
government would decide its strategy for next hearing in Supreme Court. But,
in Andhra Pradesh, there are also moves for an out of court settlement over
the price of Bt Cotton seeds. "Some Indian seed companies operating in the
state have approached us to press for an out of court settlement saying that
they are ready to abide by the government decision.

We are ready if it is in the interest of farmers, and since other states
have also joined the litigation, they should also be ready for an out of
court settlement," says N Raghuveera Reddy, agriculture minister, Andhra
Pradesh.

Activists are upset that the state government that had taken up the cause of
farmers is compromising with a company whose seed failures have led to
farmer suicides. "This step actually shows the clout the seed companies
hold," says Krishnan. Suman Sahai of Gene Campaign feels that the judicial
process should continue since it will generate a lot of information, which
will be available in the public domain.

[www.centralchronicle.com]