30000+ Acres of Biotech Cotton Destroyed in India Mixup

by Meena Menon

This time, the fields are being burned by the Indian government, which recently discovered thousands of hectares that had been planted with transgenic cotton without the government's knowledge or approval.

Controversy continues to rage over revelations that 30,000 acres or more of land in western Gujarat state has been planted with Bt cotton, which is resistant to bollworm pests.

The Gujarat farmers say the transgenic cotton seeds they used were supplied by an Ahmedabad-based company called Navbharat Seeds Private Limited. They report being told that the seeds were "hybrids."

The farmers say they did not realize they were growing transgenic cotton until it was tested by Mahyco (Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company), a Mumbai-based firm that has been waiting for government permission to grow genetically modified crops commercially in India.

The U.S. giant biotech firm Monsanto has a 26 percent stake in Mahyco and has licensed Bt cotton technology to it. Monsanto holds a patent on the transgene involved from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), which encodes an insecticidal protein that allows the cotton to resist bollworm pests.

Because it has been waiting for approval and has been limited to controversial field trials -- Mahyco has spent $8 million on preparing to commercialize Bt cotton in India -- the firm was furious upon finding that bollworm-resistant seeds were already available in Gujarat.

But apart from the commercial rivalry involved, experts say the discovery of Bt cotton fields shows the difficulty of regulating the entry and use of transgenic material in developing countries like India.

This "raises serious questions about the ability of developing nations to regulate the introduction of GM varieties," K.S. Jayaraman wrote in the magazine Nature.

E.A. Siddiq, chairman of the Indian Department of Biotechnology's committee on transgenic crops, was quoted as saying: "This is a foretaste of a frightening situation where transgenics will be out of control and all over the place."

The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) of the ministry of environment, which gives approval for the research into and use of GMOs, ordered the torching of the standing crop of Bt cotton, which was almost ready to be harvested in Gujarat.

Navbharat's managing director, Dr D.B. Desai, has been quoted as saying he would reserve comment for now, but reports say the seeds were probably imported from the United States and crossed with an Indian cotton variety.

Meanwhile, the Gujarat farmers are furious that the government wants to burn their fields without any mention of compensation.

After giving orders to burn the cotton crop in Gujarat, the GEAC has withdrawn into silence.

But P.K. Ghosh, adviser to the Department of Biotechnology, said the GEAC has given orders to burn the fields and it is now up to the Gujarat government to act fast.

The company which sold the seeds, Navbharat, and the farmers who bought the seeds are both at fault, he adds. They can be punished under the environmental protection act and the polluter -- in this case the seed company -- must pay, he explains.

For its part, the Department of Biotechnology, eager to push transgenic crops, has been making repeated statements that there is no problem from its perspective.

The government has been claiming that Bt cotton will increase crop yields and farmers could get 1,000 kg per hectare as opposed to the present 350 kg per hectare, and also reduce the load of pesticides. More than 50 percent of the pesticides used in India are used to destroy pests in cotton alone.

The Indian government presented a new policy that states that genetically-modified seeds would increase productivity and improve quality, but would have to adhere to safety norms like environmental, health and biodiversity safety before commercial release.

Transgenic seeds varieties would be imported only after clearance from Genetic Engineering Approval Committee and after testing to determine their agronomic value by the Indian Council of Agriculture Research.

Meantime, Mahyco, which sent its findings about Bt cotton in Gujarat to Indian government agencies, wants the government to take strong and immediate action against Navbharat company for "its illegal action and blatant contravention of the legal and regulatory processes, which govern the commercialization of transgenic crops in India."

In the last six years, Mahyco said it has conducted more than 100 field trials in different climatic zones and has carried out nutritional and biosafety studies with Bt cotton under directives issued by the regulatory authorities.

In June 2001, GEAC directed Mahyco to conduct large-scale trials on 100 hectares, now underway in seven states. The last round of trials for genetically engineered (GE) Bt cotton encompasses 430 sites in six states.

Bt cotton technology has been commercialized in seven countries -- the United States, China, Mexico, Australia, Argentina, South Africa and Indonesia. It is being used by farmers for the control of bollworm on 1.5 million hectares worldwide. More than 300,000 small farmers in China alone planted Bt cotton on 500,000 hectares last year.

Ranjana Smetacek, director for government and public affairs of Monsanto, said: "We are particular in ensuring that all necessary approvals are sought and received before any Monsanto technology is commercialized."

But Monsanto cannot challenge the fact that another company has produced Bt cotton seeds, since India does not yet have a plant patent regime in place.

"Our lawyers are examining the options," Smetacek said. "Monsanto will be affected by the recent events in Gujarat to the extent that we own a 26 percent stake in Mahyco and any damage to their commercial interests would therefore impact us."

But environmentalists and NGOs have long criticized the move to commercially sell Bt cotton and the fact that the test results have been clouded in secrecy. The initial field trials were illegal, according to Greenpeace and other groups.

Environmentalist Vandana Shiva's Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology has filed a public interest lawsuit in the Supreme Court against the Department of Biotechnology, alleging large-scale violations of biosafety guidelines during the field trials.

But even biotechnology proponents are worried by the Gujarat Bt cotton, saying that "law-abiding" companies would suffer if regulation was poor.

Government biotechnology officials also say India would need $2 million to boost the capability of existing laboratories to better monitor genetically modified organisms.