1.India delays licenses for Monsanto's transgenic seeds
2.Genetically-modified Bt cotton a cropper: Study

EXCERPTS
"The Indian government on Wednesday deferred a decision on renewing marketing licenses for three Monsanto seeds and fresh approval for nine others, jeopardizing sales of the transgenic seeds for the sowing season beginning June, a Monsanto official said." - item 1

"Mahyco-Monsanto should be held responsible for spreading impossible dreams that are ruining the farmers lives." - item 2

"Mahyco-Monsanto had commissioned studies by market research agencies rather that scientists, which claimed that AP farmers had gained five-fold gain from Bollgard compared to non-BT hybrids. 'Hundreds of farmers, who have testified in the study have told us how Bollgard cultivation has ruined them totally. In the face of reality, this claim by Mahyco-Monsanto is an example of dark humour'". - item 2
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1.India delays licenses for Monsanto's transgenic seeds
Associated Press, April 13 2005
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/business/technology/11384622.htm

BANGALORE, India (AP) - The Indian government on Wednesday deferred a decision on renewing marketing licenses for three Monsanto seeds and fresh approval for nine others, jeopardizing sales of the transgenic seeds for the sowing season beginning June, a Monsanto official said.

The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, a federal regulator, met Wednesday to discuss applications from Indian partners of the U.S. agribusiness Monsanto Co., seeking renewal of licenses for three existing varieties of seeds and new approval for 11 more.

A Monsanto official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the committee only approved two varieties of genetically modified cotton seeds, but deferred a decision on others.

The official said the company was hoping to get a positive response from the committee as farmers across the country are preparing to buy seeds ahead of the sowing season starting June.

He didn't elaborate on what happened at the five-hour meeting of the committee, which has been under pressure from environmental groups like the Greenpeace to ban the use of Monsanto seeds in India. Government officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

The deferment came months after the southern Andhra Pradesh state asked Monsanto to compensate farmers who, it said, lost money by sowing transgenic cotton. Monsanto has disputed the claim.

St. Louis, Missouri-based Monsanto's BT cotton is the only genetically modified crop allowed in India. BT stands for bacillus thuringiensis, a bacterium whose gene is injected into cotton seeds to give them resistance against boll worms, common in India.

Monsanto sold 1.3 million packets of BT cotton in 2004. But critics say the seeds are environmentally hazardous and could contaminate the genes of native varieties through cross pollination, eventually making farmers poorer.

However, advocates of genetic modification say it helps fight plant diseases [?!], increase yield and make food crops more nutritive [?!].

Shares of Monsanto fell 72 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $62.69 in midday trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange, near the high end of a 52-week range of $31.36 to $65.60.
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2.Genetically-modified Bt cotton a cropper: Study
From R Akhileshwari
DH News Service Hyderabad:
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/apr132005/national1554182005412.asp

Despite claims that Bt cotton provides socio-economic benefits, the study reveals that it infected soil and no other crop could grow after the Bt cotton crop was harvested.

A study that tracked genetically modified Bt cotton crop for three years in Andhra Pradesh has proved conclusively that it has failed on all fronts including yield, cost of cultivation, returns to farmers and resistance to pests. On the other hand, the non-Bt cotton performed better on all counts.

"There are negative returns on every count other than pesticide use in Bt cotton crop," said Mr P V Satheesh, convener of AP Coalition on Defence of Diversity and Director of Deccan Development Society, which sponsored the study.

Incidentally, this is the first-ever independent scientific study on Bt cotton done on season-long basis continuously for three years in 87 villages of Warangal, Nalgonda, Adilabad and Kurnool districts, which are the major cotton growing districts of the State.

The AP Coalition, which comprises 140 civil society groups across the State, demanded that the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee of the Government of India should withhold the three-year license to the Bollgard Bt hybrids of Mahyco-Monsanto.

Monsanto Corporation, that markets Bollgard variety of Bt Cotton in India through Mahyco, asserts that it returns huge socio-economic benefits to farmers. It also claims that Bt cotton contributes to a healthier environment, as it involves lesser use of pesticide. However, the study shows that it infected the soil and no other crop could grow after the Bt Cotton crop was harvested.

As against this, the soil of the non-Bt cotton was friendly to other crops like chilly. "This is an early warning and needs to be researched by soil scientists and plant pathologists," said Satheesh.

Hybrids, a failure

The study conducted by Dr Abdul Qayum and Kiran Sakkhari, agricultural scientists, found that the three-year average yield of Bt cotton was 649 kg per acre while that of non-Bt cotton was 708 kg per acre. The costs of cultivation for Bt cotton was 12 per cent higher than that of non-Bt cotton. The three-year average returns on Bt cotton was 60 per cent less than that for non-Bt cotton. "On all accounts, the Mahyco-Monsanto Bt hybrids failed the farming community in Andhra Pradesh," said Mr Satheesh.

He recalled that Mahyco-Monsanto had commissioned studies by market research agencies rather that scientists, which claimed that AP farmers had gained five-fold gain from Bollgard compared to non-BT hybrids. "Hundreds of farmers, who have testified in the study have told us how Bollgard cultivation has ruined them totally. In the face of reality, this claim by Mahyco-Monsanto is an example of dark humour," he said.

The Coalition demanded that the AP government immediately take steps to prevent the sale of Bollgard seeds for the present season, which is already going on. It also demanded that the government order a judicial enquiry into the incidents where the official agencies have either suppressed the truth or manipulated it to favour the Mahyco-Monsanto corporation. Demanding that Mahyco-Monsanto compensate the small farmers, the Coalition said, "Mahyco-Monsanto should be held responsible for spreading impossible dreams that are ruining the farmers lives."

It also demanded that a five-year moratorium be imposed on genetically engineered crops until the issue is debated widely.