It's time we cottoned on

Can genetically modified crops help Indian agriculture deal with some of these problems? It can't if we don't allow it. We can close the doors to this science and, five years later, look at China's agriculture and wonder what we did wrong. But if you play it right ­ for a change, the government does appear to be doing this ­ GM crops can serve the rich as well as the poor farmer equally well.

GM techniques enable scientists to transfer individual genes from one organism into another to introduce the desired qualities in the recipient organism. In Bt Cotton, this was done by introducing a protein toxic to insects found in Bacillus thuringiensis, a naturally occurring soil bacterium.

The plant that once was a food source for the insect now kills it. This reduces the need to spray crops with chemical insecticides, reducing its presence in crops and the fields that seep into the food chain. Most of all, GM cotton has been demonstrated to increase yield, push farmer incomes by improving productivity and reducing pesticide costs and insecticide-related illness.

Bt Cotton is the only GM crop permitted in India, approved for commercial release in 2002. But it has been in use for many years in countries like China where 66 per cent of cotton cultivation is GM cotton.

The world over, 8.25 million farmers across 17 countries including nine developing countries sowed GM crops across 81 million hectares in 2004. The previous year, global value of total crop production from GM crops was estimated at $ 44 million. Net economic benefits to producers from biotech crops were estimated at $ 1.9 billion in the US alone. China ­ that has taken the lead in Asia -- has projected potential potential gains of $ 5 billion in 2010, 80 per cent of it from Bt Rice. Yields of Bt Rice are expected to be up to 15 per cent higher than usual and it uses fewer agrochemicals, which will improve the environment, lower prices and increase profits.

In India, American giant Monsanto's Bt Cotton already accounts for 6 per cent of the total cotton cultivation and has helped farmers cut down insecticide use by half and also increase yield. But there is clearly scope for improvement. Insecticide applications on Bt Cotton varieties were reduced up to 14 applications in China, 7 in South Africa and 5-6 in Indonesia and Australia. A study commissioned by the government also referred to concerns that toxin levels in the crop ­ that kill pests ­ had reduced too fast, forcing farmers to resort to insecticides.

There are also concerns that the toxins were concentrated too much in the foliage ­ that helps farmers in US where the leaves are the target -rather than the fruiting parts which are attacked by pests in India. The study concluded that researchers should focus on developing transgenic cotton varieties that enhance toxins in fruiting parts.

These certainly are not issues that cannot be resolved by biotechnologists or are dissuading farmers. Far from it, area under cultivation of Bt Cotton grew 400 per cent last year to 5.23 lakh hectares. Most farmers who used the GM crop have found it a cost-effective way to improve yield and cut costs.

Cotton cultivators use nearly half of all insecticides consumed in India. Even then, the total loss due to crop damage is estimated at over Rs 1,200 crore. This loss and low yields show up in global comparisons. India accounts for 20 per cent of all land under cotton cultivation in the world, but produces only 13 per cent of the global output. A cotton farm in India yields just about 319 kg per hectare; half the world average of 603 kg per hectare.

There's another benefit. Because GM crops reduce the need for pesticides, the latter's prices have dropped as GM farming has spread. The price reductions have allowed discounting of weed and insect control programmes, helping even those farmers who haven't adopted GM. It is the government, though, which has to adopt most, as we argue in the next section.