The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Subsidy for Bt cotton seeds from next kharif

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 24, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Subsidy for Bt cotton seeds from next kharif

By Nagesh Prabhu

Centre is promoting its cultivation in various States

A variety of Bt cotton

BANGALORE: With the vast expansion of area under Bt cotton cultivation, the State Government is mulling over extending Bt cotton seed subsidy to small and marginal cotton growers from the next kharif season (2008).

The Government has extended 75 per cent of seeds subsidy to more than 20 crops in the last kharif season.

An official in the Directorate of Agriculture told The Hindu that the Union Government had suggested to the State to extend seed subsidy to cotton growers. For the first time, the Centre has suggested to the State to give thrust on Bt cotton cultivation, which would yield more income to growers compared to that of traditional variety. The Centre has provided Rs. 7.74 crore to the State under the “Mission for Cotton”in 2007-08 and has been aggressively promoting cultivation of Bt cotton in various Sates. The Centre has launched an Integrated Pest Management Programme to educate farmers about benefits of Bt cotton, the official said.

The State Government, in the last kharif season, had fixed the price of Bt cotton seed at Rs. 750 for a 450 gm-packet as against the Monsanto Biotech-India Limited’s price of Rs. 1,450 for the same quantity of seed. However, none of the companies adhered to the price fixed by the Government and sold the seed beyond the fixed price.

Farmers switch

The official pointed out that despite controversies and misgivings about Bt cotton, many farmers have been switching over to the hybrid variety in several districts on account of high profit and aggressive marketing by private companies. Many growers of Haveri, Gulbarga, Raichur, Shimoga, Mysore, Bagalkot and Belgaum districts have switched over to Bt cotton. The area under Bt cotton increased from 30,000 hectares in 2005 to 1.80 lakh hectares in the kharif season of 2007, which now comprises about 50 per cent of the area under cotton.

However, the standing crop on a few hectares had been damaged on account of rains last month. The growers are expected to cultivate crop on 1.5 lakh hectares in the rabi season, which would start from this month, the official said.

The farmers in the State are willing to cultivate Bt cotton to reduce the pest damage and cost of production. In Bt cotton, there is a significant reduction in the number of sprays that are applied. The cost per hectare has been reduced by 25 per cent, according to the official.

As many as 17 major seed companies, including Mahyo, Rasi Seeds Limited, Ganga Cauvery Seeds, are involved in convincing the farmers about the benefits of Bt cotton.

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