{"id":15742,"date":"2021-06-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-19T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/current_affairs\/uncategorized\/19-06-2021\/sale-of-htbt-cotton-seeds-doubles\/"},"modified":"2021-06-19T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-06-19T00:00:00","slug":"sale-of-htbt-cotton-seeds-doubles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/19-06-2021\/sale-of-htbt-cotton-seeds-doubles","title":{"rendered":"Sale of HTBt cotton Seeds Doubles"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>In News<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The illegal cultivation of<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong> herbicide-tolerant (HT) Bt cotton <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">has seen a huge jump this year 2021 and the sale of illegal seed packets have more than doubled.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Industry lobbies have written to the Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, demanding that action be taken to stop such sales and punish offenders.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>Bt Cotton<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Bt cotton is the only<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong> genetically modified (GM) crop<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> that is allowed in India since 2002.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Bt cotton was first approved for commercial use in the United States in 1995. In 2002, a joint venture between US-based Monsanto and the Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Co Ltd (Mahyco) <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>introduced Bt cotton to India<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">It has two alien genes from the soil bacterium <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> that allows the crop to develop a protein toxic to the common pest pink bollworm and the other is <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Ht Bt cotton<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> which is derived with the insertion of an additional gene, from another soil bacterium, which allows the plant to resist the common herbicide glyphosate.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>Herbicide Tolerant Bt (HTBt) Cotton<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The HTBt cotton variant adds another layer of modification. It makes the plant resistant to the herbicide glyphosate. This has not been approved by regulators.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">It is feared that glyphosate has a carcinogenic effect.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The unchecked spread of herbicide resistance to nearby plants through pollination could create a variety of superweeds.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>Major Concerns Highlighted\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>This year there<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> is a <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>big increase in such illegal cultivation especiall<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">y in Maharashtra from 30 lakh packets last year to about 75 lakh packets this year(2021) and to make matters worse, the illegal seeds are<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong> sold using the brand name of prominent companie<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">s.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">It is illegal to g<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>row HTBt cotton in India <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">since the Government has not cleared it for commercial cultivation.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Farmers are at risk with s<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>uch illegal cotton seed sale<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> as there is <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>no accountability of the quality of seed.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The industry is <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>losing legitimate seed sales <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">and the government also l<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>oses revenue in terms of tax collection<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> noting that HTBt seeds are often produced in Gujarat and then moved to Maharashtra.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">It will not only decimate small cotton seed companies but also threatens the entire legal cotton seed market in India.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Cultivation of the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>genetically modified cotton variant<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> has s<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>erious environmental and economic consequences.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>Reasons For Favouring\u00a0 HTBt<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Farmers say the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>cultivation cost reduces drastically with HTBt seeds<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> as they can spray herbicides to eliminate weeds without damage to cotton crop and save labour cost required to pull out weeds that reduce the yield.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">There is a shortage of the labour needed to do at least two rounds of <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>weeding for Bt cotton.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">With HTBt, they can simply do one round of <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>glyphosate spraying with no need for weeding.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> It saves ?7,000 to ?8,000 per acre for farmers.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>Stand of Government<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">\u00a0The Centre has made a <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>policy to ban this variant<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">\u00a0But the State governments must take action.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Following Central advisories to all cotton-growing States, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Telangana have seized HTBt stock and taken punitive action against the culprits. States have also been asked to regulate the sale of glyphosate.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">It has been decided that proposals for field trials of GM crops, including Bt brinjal, will not be taken up for consideration by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) without the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>recommendation of the State\/UT concerned.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">However, the State government officials said that they were still waiting for further directions from the Centre<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>\n<table cellspacing=\"0\" style=\"border-collapse:collapse; border:none; table-layout:fixed; width:624px\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"background-color:#fff2cc; border-bottom:1px solid #000000; border-left:1px solid #000000; border-right:1px solid #000000; border-top:1px solid #000000; vertical-align:top\">\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>Genetically Modified(GM) Crops<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">They are that type of plants whose DNA has been modified through genetic engineering for embedding a new trait to the plant which does not occur naturally in the species.<\/span><\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:circle\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Genetic engineering aims to transcend the genus barrier by introducing an alien gene in the seeds to get the desired effects and the alien gene could be from a plant, an animal or even a soil bacterium.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Across the world, GM variants of maize, canola and soybean etc, are available<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\t\t\t\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>Legal Position of GM crops in India<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">All GM crops in India need to be approved by the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC),<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> the apex body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for regulating the manufacture, use, import, export and storage of hazardous micro-organisms or genetically engineered organisms (GMOs) and cells in the country.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">It is responsible for the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>appraisal of activities involving large<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> scale use of hazardous microorganisms and recombinants in research and industrial production from the environmental angle.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>committee is also responsible<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"> for the appraisal of proposals relating to the release of genetically engineered (GE) organisms and products into the environment including experimental field trials.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Use of the unapproved GM variant can attract a jail term of 5 years and a fine of Rs 1 lakh under the Environmental Protection Act,1989.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>Regulation of Imported Crops<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The task of regulating GMO levels in imported consumables was initially with the <\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">under the Union environment ministry.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">Its role was diluted with the enactment of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and FSSAI was asked to take over approvals of imported goods.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\t\t\t\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\"><strong><u>Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">It functions under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&#038;CC).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">It is responsible for the appraisal of activities involving large-scale use of hazardous microorganisms and recombinants in research and industrial production from the environmental angle.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type:disc\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#000000\">The committee is also responsible for the appraisal of proposals relating to the release of genetically engineered (GE) organisms and products into the environment including experimental field trials.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/sale-of-illegal-htbt-cotton-seeds-doubles\/article34852355.ece\" style=\"text-decoration:none\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"><span style=\"font-family:Arial\"><span style=\"color:#1155cc\"><u>Source: TH<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In News The illegal cultivation of herbicide-tolerant (HT) Bt cotton has seen a huge jump this year 2021 and the sale of illegal seed packets have more than doubled. Industry lobbies have written to the Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, demanding that action be taken to stop such sales and punish offenders. \u00a0 Bt [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15743,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[27,26],"class_list":["post-15742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs","tag-agriculture","tag-gs-3"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2023\/07\/7245137current-affairs.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15742\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}