Agriculture officers in Maharashtra are worried about the sowing of unauthorised variants of Bt cotton in the state during the kharif season.
Agriculture officers in Maharashtra are worried about the sowing of unauthorised variants of Bt cotton in the state during the kharif season. They fear that 5 per cent of the 40 lakh hectares (lh) of cotton acreage in the state will be done with Bt cotton seed of an unapproved Herbicide Tolerant (HT) transgenic gene.
The sale, storage and usage of the HT transgenic gene is not allowed in India, as it has not been approved by the Union government’s Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC). Monsanto, the global leader in genetically modified seeds, had submitted the HT Bt cotton before the GEAC for approval.
In April 2016, Mahyco, the company in which Monsanto has a 26 per cent share, withdrew its application for approval of the HT Bt transgenic trait from the GEAC. But the seed has spread rampantly on the ground level, according to agriculture officers. The officers said they became aware of the problem when they found sachets of such seeds at the farmgate level. These seeds were not packed in the conventional way and when questioned, the holders said the seeds were to be used for extraction of cotton seed oil.
Till April 11 this year, the agriculture department has reported seizure of 16,533 packets of such seeds, along with 779 kilograms of unpacked seeds. Agriculture officers carried out field-level searches to track such cases, after which 24 FIRs were filed on charges of possession of such seeds. All the FIRs were registered in districts along the state borders, which points to the functioning of a well-organised body that is pushing such seeds into the state, said the officers.
While the state government had formed a special investigation team (SIT) to study the problem, the team is facing shortage of manpower. Special Inspector General Krishna Prakash, who heads the SIT, said he has requested for additional manpower. “The SIT will soon have three officers from the agriculture department and five from the police department,” he said. The SIT will also seek the help of experts in the field, said Krishna Prakash.
A spokesperson of the Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (India) private limited said they have informed the GEAC about the illegal cultivation. “We welcome the government’s move to set up the Field Inspection and Safety Evaluation Committee (FISEC), which is mandated to investigate the illegal trade of unapproved HT seeds and make recommendations to the government. We are confident that the government will take necessary steps to prosecute the entities that are involved in the illegal trade of unapproved HT seeds and put in place systems and processes that would ensure strict enforcement of the Environment Protection Act. Additionally, our field teams are actively running campaigns to create awareness against the illegal use of
the technology and its negative impacts,” read the statement.
The sale, storage and usage of the HT transgenic gene is not allowed in India, as it has not been approved by the Union government’s Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC). Monsanto, the global leader in genetically modified seeds, had submitted the HT Bt cotton before the GEAC for approval.
In April 2016, Mahyco, the company in which Monsanto has a 26 per cent share, withdrew its application for approval of the HT Bt transgenic trait from the GEAC. But the seed has spread rampantly on the ground level, according to agriculture officers. The officers said they became aware of the problem when they found sachets of such seeds at the farmgate level. These seeds were not packed in the conventional way and when questioned, the holders said the seeds were to be used for extraction of cotton seed oil.
Till April 11 this year, the agriculture department has reported seizure of 16,533 packets of such seeds, along with 779 kilograms of unpacked seeds. Agriculture officers carried out field-level searches to track such cases, after which 24 FIRs were filed on charges of possession of such seeds. All the FIRs were registered in districts along the state borders, which points to the functioning of a well-organised body that is pushing such seeds into the state, said the officers.
While the state government had formed a special investigation team (SIT) to study the problem, the team is facing shortage of manpower. Special Inspector General Krishna Prakash, who heads the SIT, said he has requested for additional manpower. “The SIT will soon have three officers from the agriculture department and five from the police department,” he said. The SIT will also seek the help of experts in the field, said Krishna Prakash.
A spokesperson of the Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (India) private limited said they have informed the GEAC about the illegal cultivation. “We welcome the government’s move to set up the Field Inspection and Safety Evaluation Committee (FISEC), which is mandated to investigate the illegal trade of unapproved HT seeds and make recommendations to the government. We are confident that the government will take necessary steps to prosecute the entities that are involved in the illegal trade of unapproved HT seeds and put in place systems and processes that would ensure strict enforcement of the Environment Protection Act. Additionally, our field teams are actively running campaigns to create awareness against the illegal use of
the technology and its negative impacts,” read the statement.