Allow HT Bt cotton to keep tabs on spurious seeds, save farmers: Seed firms

Allow HT Bt cotton to keep tabs on spurious seeds, save farmers: Seed firms

Subject : Agriculture

Context: Members of the National Seed Association of India (NSAI) have said that there is a need to bring in a uniform system of seed licencing in the country by adopting a one-country-one-seed licence policy.

• NSSAI executive said that Herbicide Tolerant Cotton (Ht Cotton) has already been tested in contained field trails. It may be fast tracked for environmental release so that the quality of the legally approved Ht cotton could be regulated under the existing Seed (Control) Order.

Herbicide Tolerant Bt (HTBt) Cotton:

• The HTBt cotton variant adds another layer of modification, making the plant resistant to the herbicide glyphosate, but has not been approved by regulators.
• HtBt Cotton involves the addition of another gene, ‘Cp4-Epsps’ from another soil bacterium, Agrobacterium tumefaciens to make it herbicide resistant.
• Fears include glyphosate having a carcinogenic effect, as well as the unchecked spread of herbicide resistance to nearby plants through pollination, creating a variety of superweeds.
• As it is not approved by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), illegal sale takes place in Indian markets.

Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)

• GEAC is apex body under Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change for regulating manufacturing, use, import, export and storage of hazardous micro-organisms or genetically engineered organisms (GMOs) and cells in the country.
• It is also responsible for giving technical approval of proposals relating to release of GMOs and products including experimental field trials.
• GEAC is chaired by the Special Secretary/Additional Secretary of MoEF&CC and co-chaired by a representative from the Department of Biotechnology (DBT).

National Seed Association of India

• The National Seed Association of India, (NSAI), the apex organization representing the Indian Seed Industry, continues to strive to meet all the farmers’ needs by understanding their requirements and developing research strategies to address problems.
• The vision of NSAI is to create “A dynamic, innovative, internationally competitive, research based industry producing high performance, high quality seeds and planting materials which benefit farmers and significantly contribute to the sustainable growth of Indian Agriculture”.
• The Indian Seed Congress, the annual forum organized by NSAI, has emerged as a much awaited event to project the latest trends and views of the Seed Industry sector; voice their concerns; deliberate on the new technological advances and the barriers to technology development and introduction; showcase new product ranges and services and network for better business development.

Objectives

• To create a policy environment for the seed industry
• To create better interaction & provide business opportunities among our stakeholders
• To hold meetings and interactions between the public & private sector to discuss common issues
• To facilitate Public Private Partnership