Create Post
Is Bt cotton a success? Government’s GM mustard move reignites 20-year-old debate
According to provisional estimates provided by the Cotton Corporation of India, 340.62 lakh (34 million) bales of cotton were produced in 2021-2022 (File image of a cotton field) As the government introduces genetically modified (GM) mustard in the country, debate still rages on a similarly modified variety of cotton introduced 20 years back. In 2002, Bt cotton from Monsanto was introduced in India and now forms 90 percent of the total cotton crop area in the country. Yes the area under Bt has surely increased due to many reasons such as the use of agriculture extension arms for marketing, making only the Bt seeds available, shutting the effective breeding or saving of traditional seeds," Sayanan said. In FY2002-03, the total area under cotton was 86.24 lakh (8.62 million) hectares, of which the Bt variety accounted for only 0.29 lakh (0.029 million) hectares, or 0.33 percent, according to DES data released in the Lok Sabha in 2020. Yield losses due to pink bollworm, boll rot and sucking pests, coupled with expensive weed management, have become a nightmare for cotton farmers, Kaundinya said, adding no new biotech traits have been approved for commercialisation since 2005, resulting in inefficiencies in pest control and a drop in yield. Source - Money Control
- 3
- 0
- ₹0
