India
September 8, 2005
Source:
BBC News via
Checkbiotech
Global biotech giant
Monsanto says its sales of
genetically modified cotton seeds in India so far this year are
more than double the figure for 2004.
A Monsanto spokeswoman said the
131 percent jump vindicated Indian farmers' faith in genetically
altered cotton seeds.
Environmental activists have opposed Monsanto's attempts to
market its products in India over the years.
Critics say GM crops have not been studied adequately and could
harm the environment, a charge the firm denies.
India's cotton industry plants all types of cotton seeds on more
than 7.9 million hectares a year.
Fight against pests
Monsanto said it had sold more than three million packets of
genetically modified cotton seeds in India so far this year,
compared to last year's figure of 1.3 million packets.
A company spokeswoman, Ranjana Smetacek, told the
BBC the rise in sales was
due to new varieties of seeds and to take up of the seeds by new
states in 2005.
"This year, we have sold 20 different hybrids of Bt cotton
seeds, as compared to four varieties last year, and we made a
major breakthrough in three northern Indian states - Punjab,
Haryana and Rajasthan," she said.
Bt stands for bacillus thuringiensis, a bacterium which enhances
the resistance of cotton seeds to attacks from boll worms, which
are a major problem in India.
Bt cotton is the only genetically altered crop allowed in India,
the BBC's Rajan Chakravarty
says.
High price
Critics say the GM seeds could contaminate the genes of
conventional crops, leading to loss of biodiversity.
They also fear the prospect of foreign control over the
country's food supply and say the cost of the GM seeds outweighs
the profits they yield.
Each packet of Bt cotton seeds cost $40, nearly four times the
price of conventional seeds.
Ms Smetacek said a survey by international market research firm
IMRB in April this year backed Monsanto's claims that farmers
using BT cotton seeds achieved considerably higher profits.
Monsanto, based in the United States, has licensed the Bt cotton
technology to 19 Indian partners, which have introduced 20
varieties and have submitted another 100 for approval by
regulators.
The Indian government has delayed approval of some of the
company's products and even banned some varieties of seeds.
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