BT cotton okayed for all, except AP

The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) has decided not to hold back commercial cultivation of three BT cotton varieties in Andhra...

The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) has decided not to hold back commercial cultivation of three BT cotton varieties in Andhra Pradesh, while giving a green signal to other states. These three BT cotton varieties were the first ones to be introduced in the country and Andhra Pradesh had expressed dissatisfaction over its performance in the state.

The GEAC had twice postponed the decision to renew commercial cultivation of the three varieties, which were developed by the Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco). The Andhra Pradesh government had indicated it was not happy with the performance of BT cotton and that it wanted more trials. For this meeting, the Andhra Pradesh government sent a report to the GEAC saying the performance of the three varieties is not satisfactory, an official spokesperson said.

The GEAC has now okayed the renewal of commercial cultivation in other states as there were no adverse reports from them. Renewal of cultivation of MECH 12 BT has been allowed in the Central zone that includes Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharastra but not in the South zone including Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

For the second variety — MECH 162 BT — Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharastra, MP and Gujarat have been given approval. The third variety — MECH 184 BT containing Cry 1 Ac gene — has been given to the same five states. The three varieties were provisionally introduced three years ago in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka with the caveat that they would be reviewed in 2005 for commercial cultivation. In the last meeting held, Greenpeace and Gene Campaign had made a presentation and while these organisations maintained that BT crop has performed badly and is proving to be more expensive for farmers, Mahyco and Monsanto insisted it is a cheaper crop to cultivate.

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