The Hindu : Experts back Bt cotton cultivation

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 10, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka

Experts back Bt cotton cultivation

By Our Special Correspondent

Bangalore June 9. Nearly 80 per cent of cotton cultivated in the United States is Bt cotton, which is an indication that the farmer there is happy with its results, experts attending the World Seed Congress here have said.

In their bid to set at rest the controversy over Bt cotton, the President of the International Seed Federation (ISF), Christopher Ahrens, Bernard Le Buanec, and the Chairman of the National Organising Committee of the World Seed Congress, Manmohan Attavar, pointed out that the U.S. farmer was not crazy to go in for Bt cotton if it had adverse affects.

Addressing presspersons here on Monday, Dr. Buanec said when Bt cotton was first introduced in the U.S. in summer, the response was not good and there was a controversy.

But five years hence, Bt cotton had become popular among farmers.

Dr. Manmohan Attavar reiterated the fact that Bt cotton was in the interests of the farmer and such technologies had to be allowed.

He appealed to the media to keep the larger interests of farmers in mind and write about the positive results of Bt cotton.

Dr. Ahrens said that Europe, under pressure from the World Trade Organisation, was making efforts to move away from production-based subsidies.

Once this happened, world trade in agriculture would benefit, particularly for developing countries.

The ISF was trying to harmonise seed legislation around the world, despite the fact that the seed trade was comparatively small.

Deepak Mullick, member of the organising committee of the World Seed Congress, said that in the next few months, three laboratories would come up, including two in Bangalore, for issuing Orange International Certification for seeds.

This would help boost the seed trade, he said, and mentioned that a World Bank study had indicated that Indian seed exports would go up from $20 million in 2000 to $200 million in 2005.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

Stories in this Section

Global seed firms urged to invest in India

Gang strikes at 8 houses near Mysore

Supply fodder at half price, Govt. urged

600 gastroenteritis cases in Kurnool

Experts back Bt cotton cultivation

Rs. 1.64 cr. for job schemes in Tirupati

Bangarappa acquitted in dental college case

`Panchayat Raj has failed in State'

`Space mapping ideal for measuring biodiversity'

`Court stays stalled implementation of Securitisation Act'

Relief works: State to move Finance Commission