Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Monday, May 20, 2002
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Monday, May 20, 2002 |
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Agri-Biz & Commodities
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Cotton 12 districts selected for Bt cotton seed distribution Our Bureau
BANGALORE, May 19 WITH the Government of India giving the green signal to Mahyco-Monsanto to distribute Bt cotton seeds for commercial cultivation, the company has selected 12 districts in Karnataka for distribution of the same. The Karnataka Minister for Agriculture, Mr T.B. Jayachandra, said that the Centre had permitted the company to grow two varieties — MECH-184 and MECH-162. The districts included Haveri, Belgaum, Gadag, Bellary, Koppal, Gulbarga, Raichur, Davanagere, Bijapur, Dharwar, Hassan and Mysore. In Karnataka, cotton is cultivated on about six lakh acres. The company would supply 450 gm of Bt cotton seeds and 120 gm of non-Bt cotton of the same variety in each package to the grower. This would be sufficient to raise the crop on one acre and the company plans to supply a total of 16,836 packets. The cost per packet would be Rs 1,600 with no Government subsidy. The seeds would be made available through registered dealers and traders found to sell spurious seeds of genetically modified varieties would be liable for punishment. The Minister said that the Centre had given a three-year trial period for Bt cotton seeds. Quoting experts, he said that cultivation of Bt cotton helped in controlling cotton bollworm, reducing pesticide consumption, and getting better yield. On the opposition to the introduction of Bt cotton seeds from the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, he said that any attempts to disrupt the cultivation of the legally permitted crop would invite action under law. He said that these organisations should realise the amount of money spent on the use of pesticides on cotton. Of the nearly Rs 4,500 crore spent on pesticides by farmers, cotton alone accounted for about Rs 2,000 crore. The Minister said even the University of Agricultural Sciences in Dharwar was working on developing a multi-gene modified cotton crop. The University had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Council for Agricultural Research. Bt cotton, he said, would fit well into the integrated pest management, which the Agriculture Department had taken up on a massive scale. Following the success of KRH-2 rice hybrid in some parts of the State, the same had been launched at the national level. The hybrid variety developed by the Regional Research Station of the University of Agricultural Sciences at Mandya, and released in 1996 had been found to be superior to other hybrids. The University, in association with the Karnataka Seed Development Agency, would go in for large-scale production to meet the growing demand for the variety. KRH-2 has yielded up to 60 quintals per acre, he added.
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