EXCERPTS: as farmers' suicides cross the 180 mark this year, the debate [over Bt cotton] is getting more and more explosive.

Desperate to reduce some of their debt burden, farmers opted for the Bt cotton variety this time. But they hardly hope to get even 1/4th of their crop.

...[Bt] seed is about four times more expensive than the normal cotton seed
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Debate rages over Bt cotton
Sanjay Tiwari
NDTV (India), Wednesday, November 30, 2005
http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?category=National&slug=Debate+rages+over+Bt+cotton&id=81889

(Nagpur): In Vidharbha's cotton fields, a debate is raging over genetically modified cotton or Bt cotton, which claims to be pest resistant.

Farmers like Marutrao Admane bought and planted Bt cotton after the cotton department aggressively promoted it, but pests infested their crop.

When Admane called the seed company, they asked him to spray pesticides, but that didn't help either.

"The bollworm still attacked the plants. The flowers fell twice, first during Pola festival and then after the unseasonal rains," he said.

Spraying pesticides defeats the whole purpose of buying Bt cotton, as the seed is about four times more expensive than the normal cotton seed and is supposed to save money on pesticides.

Spurious seeds

Bt cotton seeds were made by American company Monsanto and after several rounds of testing, the seed was cleared for use in India.

Indian seed companies then got licenses to make their own version of Bt cotton.

In Maharashtra, for instance, farmers can choose from seven versions of Bt cotton seeds, among them Banni, Raasi and Mahabeej.

However, BM Khadi, Director, Institute of Cotton Research, claims that illegal or spurious versions of Bt cotton have entered the market and that's why the crop is getting attacked by pests.

"Those who have bought genuine seeds have faced no problems. Only those who have procured spurious seeds from unknown agencies are in trouble," said Khadi.

Farmers desperate

But farmers like Admane say they bought the official version and still got attacked by pests.

And as farmers' suicides cross the 180 mark this year, the debate is getting more and more explosive.

Desperate to reduce some of their debt burden, farmers opted for the Bt cotton variety this time. But they hardly hope to get even 1/4th of their crop.

Adding to their woes, even the state government has refused to hike the cotton prices this year.