New Delhi, India
October 24, 2007
Source:
Indian Express via
Checkbiotech
The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in India signed an
agreement with global seed major
Monsanto for developing a
GM papaya seed, resistant to Ring Spot Virus (RSV). “It would
take at least four years to develop the transgenic papaya seed,”
TNAU director P Balasubramanian said after signing the
agreement.
With the development of the new transgenic variety of papaya,
the crop losses on account of RSV disease, estimated at 30-70
per cent, would be minimised, he said.
India grows 25 lakh tonnes of papaya every year on 1.5 lakh
acres with a productivity level of 100 tonnes per acre in every
two years, he said. The papaya is harvested in two years.
Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are the leading papaya growers in
the country, producing around 3.4 lakh tonnes and 2.9 lakh
tonnes respectively.
Conventional seeds such as Co5 and Co7 are not helpful in
fighting the RSV disease, Balasubramanian said.
As per the agreement, TNAU would get the technology from
Monsanto to develop the GM seed without any fees for 10 years.
When asked about the 10-year clause and what would happen after
that, Monsanto India Chairman Sekhar Natarajan said, “when the
time comes, we will see”.
They declined to spell out estimates of the price at which the
GM papaya seeds would be sold to farmers. They also said they
did not know the price at which the GM papaya seeds are sold in
the US and China, which are the only countries that have allowed
commercialised cultivation of GM papaya.
Monsanto Company, USA, will be providing a royalty-free transfer
of its virus-resistant Papaya Technology to TNAU.
TNAU is facilitated by International Service for the Acquisition
of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA). Clive James, Chairman and
Founder, ISAAA, C Ramasamy, Vice Chancellor, Tamil Nadu
Agricultural University (TNAU) and Sekhar Natarajan, Chairman,
Monsanto India signed on the agreement. This deal was inked in
the presence of Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.
The technology transfer could result in the development of
papaya varieties of better quality and good flavour with
increased virus resistance that offers a potential 75 lakh
quintals or 25% yield more to India’s papaya industry, the
signatories claimed.
Papaya is cultivated in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu,
Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Gujarat, West Bengal,
Orissa, Manipur and Meghalaya. It is mostly grown by small and
marginal farmers.
© 2007: Indian Express
Newspapers (Mumbai) Ltd
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