Plant Biotech Blog

The cost of Bt cottonseed in India has now become highly contentious, much more than ever before.

Making an allegedly poor performance of Bollgard in the State an issue, the Government and the anti-tech activists in Andhra Pradesh prevented three Bollgard varieties from cultivation in the State, since the 2005-06 cotton season.

In 2005, the cost of a packet of the authentic 450 g Bt cottonseed (required for an acre), whether of Mahyco-Monsanto Biotech (MMB) or their several sub-licensees, ranged from Rs. 1,600 to 1,850, including about 17 per cent trade margin on the MMB price of Rs. 1450. The illegal Bt cottonseed was sold between Rs. 800 to 1,000, and non-Bt cottonseed between Rs. 450 to 500 per packet. During the 2005-06 season, the acreage of legal Bt cotton was only nine per cent, while illegal Bt occupied 26 per cent and the remaining 66 per cent of acreage was under spurious or non-Bt cotton.

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The performance of Bt Cotton in India, during the 2005-06, the fourth consecutive season, appears to be very encouraging.

The acreage under Bollgard, the Bt cotton varieties of Mahyco-Monsanto Biotech Ltd., (MMB), containing the Cry 1Ac Bt gene has consistently increased. Starting with 12 Bollgard varieties on 72,000 acres in the 2002-03 season, Bt cultivation rose to 2,30,000 acres in the 2003-04 season. During the 2004-05 season Bollgard was planted on 1.3 million acres and with one more variety from Rasi, another private seed company. During the 2005-06 season there were 20 Bollgard varieties on 3.125 million acres, with two more private seed companies, Ankur and Nuziweedu, entering the field. Also, during the 2005-06 season the States of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan have officially came under Bt cultivation.

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CEN-SAD, the Community of Sahel-Saharan States, established in February 1998, is a framework for integration and complementarity in 23 member countries of the African Continent. With headquarters at Tripoli, Libya, CEN-SAD works together with the regional economic communities and the African Union, to strengthen peace, security and stability and to achieve global economic and social development. CEN-SAD aims at removing all restrictions hampering integration of member countries, harmonize educational, pedagogical, scientific and cultural systems among the member countries.

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