1.India: Centre [ie central government] admits failure of Bt cotton in 2 States
2.India : Failure of Bt cotton destroys farmers' hopes
The first article refers to failure of Bt cotton in 2 States - Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan - but the other article reports:
"Failure of Bt cotton in Madhya Pradesh has not only afflicted farmers but also put the highest office on its toe in the state. The governor, Balram Jakhar has asked the state government to find out the reasons of failure of Bt cotton."
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1.Centre [ie central government] admits failure of Bt cotton in 2 States
Gargi Parsai
The Hindu, Nov 27 2005
http://www.hindu.com/2005/11/27/stories/2005112716091200.htm
State Governments to take action against producers, suppliers of spurious seeds
*The GEAC has not renewed permission for cultivation of three Cotton Mahyco [Monsanto's partner in India] hybrids
*Tamil Nadu Government advised to constitute special flying squads to prevent sale of illegal seeds
*Andhra Pradesh seeks compensation amounting to Rs. 3.84 crores from Monsanto-Mahyco
NEW DELHI:
The Government on Friday conceded the failure of Bt cotton in Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Subsequently, permission for sale of the Monsanto-Mahyco varieties of MECH seeds had not been renewed for Andhra Pradesh this kharif.
The Centre has asked the cotton-growing State Governments to take action against producers, suppliers and vendors of spurious Bt cotton seeds that have failed to germinate or are non-Bt cotton seeds being sold in the name of transgenic seeds at exorbitant prices.
It has also asked States to monitor the performance of Bt cotton by constituting State level and district level coordination committees.
Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar told the Rajya Sabha that the Andhra Pradesh Government had reported large-scale complaints against Bt cotton seeds that had failed in Warangal district and other parts of the State during kharif 2004 causing losses to farmers.
The State Government had sought compensation amounting to Rs. 3.84 crores from Monsanto-Mahyco. The company had appealed before the State-level Memorandum of Understanding Committee and the High Court.
The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) has not renewed permission for cultivation of three Mahyco cotton hybrids, including Bt MECH-12, Bt MECH-162, Bt MECH-184 for Andhra Pradesh.
The State Government has imposed a ban on sale of Bt cotton hybrids of the company during kharif 2005. In Rajasthan too some Bt cotton had performed poorly due to inadequate rain, a long dry spell and high temperature during the crop's growth period, the Minister said.
The Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR) in Nagpur has been notified as referral laboratory for detecting the presence or absence of Bt gene in the cotton seeds.
The Department of Seed Certification in Tamil Nadu has also established a laboratory for similar purpose in Coimbatore.
The State Governments have been advised to constitute special flying squads to prevent sale of illegal Bt.cotton seeds and undertake massive campaigns to educate farmers on the subject.
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2.India : Failure of Bt cotton turns farmers' hopes down
Nov 25 2005
http://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/textile-news/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=9001
Failure of Bt cotton in Madhya Pradesh has not only afflicted farmers but also put the highest office on its toe in the state. The governor, Balram Jakhar has asked the state government to find out the reasons of failure of Bt cotton.
Farmers had purchased Bt cottonseeds at excessive prices with a hope that they would earn high profits with it. But their hopes turned down and now farmers are in losses and become debtors.
He added that he has requested the state to look into the sale of seeds and catch the persons responsible for the situation. Sufficient compensation should be given to the farmers to make up their loss. Jakhar is the chairman of Bharat Krishak Samaj, the largest farmers' association of country.
There is occurrence of wilt on Bt cotton fields in Badwani-Thikri area in Madhya Pradesh in this season. This triggers heavy losses to farmers of Mech 162 Bt, Mech 184 Bt, Mech 6301 Bt and RCH 2 Bt.
A network of 20 local NGOs has carried out a study and found out that wilt is now spreading to non-Bt cotton fields from Bt cotton fields. The network of NGOs dismissed that wilt is a result of any abiotic or a fault in farmers' techniques in Bt cotton farming.