THE STATES

A can of bollworms

Illegally grown Bt cotton crops expose the gaps in the regulation of the new technology and renew the debate on the long-term effects of genetically modified seeds.

DIONNE BUNSHA
in Gandhinagar

NARESHBHAI PATEL of Vadodara Lath village in Gandhinagar district did not know that he was growing genetically modified (GM) Bt cotton seeds in his farm. "The shopkeeper suggested that I try this new seed variety, called Navbharat-151. It was only later that I heard about the seeds on the television when the news broke that the government was threatening to burn the fields where Navbharat-151 seeds were sown," he said.

DIONNE BUNSHA
Karamsibhai Ladabhai Patel, a cotton farmer of Gandhinagar district, in his field where Navbharat-151 Bt cotton seeds were sown.

The Government of India's Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) had no clue either. Navbharat-151 has been sold illegally in parts of Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra for the past three years. The GEAC was caught unawares when the Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company Ltd.(Mahyco), which has applied for a licence to market Bt cotton seeds in India, complained that Navbharat-151 was a genetically modified variety and was being sold illegally.

The GEAC'S failure to monitor the sale of GM seeds may cost hundreds of farmers dear, if the government carries out its threat (Frontline, November 23, 2001). The Gujarat government is unwilling to pay compensation to or antagonise farmers. It has assured them that their fields will not be torched. Moreover, most farmers have harvested the crop and are clearing the fields for the rabi potato crop.

The Navbharat fiasco has highlighted the gaps in government regulation of the new technology. However, in the rush to point the finger, larger questions such as whether India needs GM seeds and what will be their long-term implications on Indian agriculture have been obscured.

Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt is a soil bacterium that has been used as a pesticide to protect crops against the tobacco budworm, the cotton bollworm and the pink bollworm. Bt is not effective against a number of other pests such as boll weevil or white fly. Scientists spliced a protein from Bt into cotton, creating a new seed, Bt cotton. The protein is toxic to certain insects and thus gives cotton plants built-in protection against these pests.

Farmers seemed relieved to have found a seed that would rid their crops of the dreaded bollworm. Gujarat's last kharif season saw the worst pest attack in recent times. While the hybrid cotton crop was damaged, the Bt fields flourished. "The yield is 50 per cent more with Navbharat-151. Although I sprayed for pests other than the bollworm, I still saved around Rs.5,000 an acre on pesticide," said Karamsibhai Ladabhai Patel from Vadodara Lath village, who tried out the new seeds on one acre.

DIONNE BUNSHA
Nareshbhai Patel in his field of Bt cotton in Gandhinagar district.

"Navbharat-151 seeds are expensive. One bag costs Rs.550 compared with Rs.300 for hybrid cotton seeds. "But we save on pesticide costs," said Karamsibhai Patel. Asked about the environmental consequences of using the seeds, he said: "We know that this cotton plant has poison. The worm dies within minutes of biting the leaf. But birds or squirrels feeding on the crop have not died. We have not been told how it will harm us."

Explaining the dangers associated with Bt cotton, Dr. Ramesh Agarwal, a genetic expert at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, said: "Initially farmers may be happy with the new technology. But long-term concerns about pest resistance, cross pollination and toxicity also need to be considered." Pests are known to have developed resistance to the Bt cotton crop in countries where the seeds were used. In such a situation, even pesticides may not prove effective. Then, an even hardier pest will plague the cotton crop, resulting in higher costs and lower yields.

The second danger, said Dr. Agarwal, was that the alien gene inserted in the Bt cotton seed could be transmitted to other crop plants, endangering other plant varieties. At present India has more than 200 cotton varieties.

Thirdly, the effect of the genetic marker used to insert the alien gene in the seed is not known. If the marker is not removed, it could prove harmful. Dr. Agarwal cautions that the toxin produced to kill the bollworm could enter the food chain. There is a possibility that the Bt cotton toxin could enter the food chain through cotton oil and through the oil cake that is fed to cattle. While the effect of the toxin is still unknown, the dangers would be more widespread than those associated with chemical insecticides, which affect the health of the immediate user.

Dr. C.D. Mayee, Director of the Central Institute of Cotton Research (CICR) in Nagpur, which is conducting trials of Mahyco's Bollgard brand of Bt cotton, says the trials have shown that Bt seeds have no adverse environmental impact. Asked about pest resistance, he admits: "It is likely that pest resistance may develop when the seed is used on a large scale. But it is up to scientists to develop a counter-strategy." Bollgard is the brand name for the Bt cotton seed developed and patented by the multinational seed company Monsanto. Monsanto has a 26 per cent stake in Mahyco. The multinational faced tremendous opposition when it tried to introduce the seed in India in 1990. But the Navbharat Seed company beat them to it, in some sense.

But Navbharat-151's illegal presence coming under the spotlight may make things more difficult for Monsanto. "More than 305 packets of Navbharat-151 seeds were distributed in Bhavnagar alone. Individual farmers were given one packet each on a trial basis. In Kutch, the seed has been used for the past two years. No one knew they were GM seeds," said M.B. Dhorajia, an Assistant Director of Agriculture. Asked why the government did nothing while the seed was being freely sold in the State, he said: "We do not have the facilities to test and identify GM seeds. At the local level, we only test random samples to ensure the seed is not of sub-standard quality. There are 162 seed companies here, each producing more than 15 different varieties. It is impossible for us to keep tabs on all of them."

For cotton farmers already burdened with increasing costs because of pest resistance to insecticides, Bt cotton may offer a quick-fix solution. Said Popatbhai Ramjibhai Patel from Sonarda Lath village in Gandhinagar district: "This year the crop was so bad that most people may abandon cotton cultivation next year. Costs have doubled in the last five years. At the same time, yields are falling. Even 12 or 15 sprayings of insecticide could not save the crop. Over the years prices have also fallen. This new seed may be a good alternative for us. We have run out of options." Currently, pesticides account for half the cost of a cotton crop. Around 70 per cent of India's pesticide consumption is on cotton.

"Bt is no escape," warned agriculture policy analyst Devinder Sharma. "It shifts the vicious cycle from pesticides and puts farmers onto another biological treadmill." He pointed out that in China and Australia pests have started developing resistance to the Bt gene. "Fourth generation pesticides were greeted with the same welcome when they were introduced in the mid-1980s. However, in a few years, insect resistance to them was widespread. In their desperation, many farmers swallowed the lethal pesticides and committed suicide," said Sharma.

But to blame pest resistance alone for farmers' suicides would be far too simplistic a response. Economic policies have reduced the profitability of agriculture, increasing indebtedness among farmers. Subsidies have been reduced, rural credit has been restricted and the market has been opened to imports. If such policies continue in the name of liberalisation, mere technological fixes may not help.

Even local seed distributors who stand to make big gains from the sale of Bt seeds are cautious. "The government should examine the effects of using these seeds and give farmers more information. They should not endanger the 200-odd cotton varieties sold in Gujarat today," said Arunbhai Patel of Bhavnagar.

While Bt cotton seeds call for careful pest management practices, the current infrastructure does not provide an adequate base for modernisation of agriculture. Education, technical support, finance and equitable markets are needed, says Dr. Geeta Bharathan, a scientist at the State University of New York, Stony Brook. In the present situation only a handful of rich farmers are likely to be able to reap the benefits of the new seeds.

"MNCs have the patents for GM seeds. Once they gain control of the market, they will increase the prices drastically. Only rich farmers will be able to afford them," said Dr. Agarwal.

A cheaper alternative exists. Although rarely spoken about because it does not generate profits for large companies, organic farming has been shown to yield the same results as hybrid seeds without the accompanying levels of input costs. "The CICR bulletin states that organic methods are as effective as inorganic farming for dryland cotton, which constitutes 90 per cent of cotton production," said Manohar Parchure from the Vidarbha Organic Farmers Association.

While the government is still groping in the dark, stumbling in its efforts to regulate the use of GM seeds, the Navbharat seed scam has opened a can of worms. It needs more than Bt seeds to deal with them.