Date:04/06/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/06/04/stories/2006060403130300.htm

Back Ministers' meet on Bt cotton

Our Bureau

Hyderabad, June 3

Andhra Pradesh, which has been at the forefront of getting a good bargain for farmers on Bt cottonseed prices, has decided to host a meeting of seven State Agriculture Ministers here on June 9. The meeting, which seeks to put up a unified front would discuss contentious issues such as the trait price of Bt cotton, how to help farmers best: what is the role of the State and Centre in the issue and work towards the best interests of the farmers, official sources in the Agriculture Ministry said here. The States invited for the meeting to be chaired by the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, are Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana and the host Andhra Pradesh, which would be represented by the Agriculture Minister.