When news of a Monsanto senior official's arrival from Mumbai reached the nearby village of Munjala, cotton farmers of the village Karanji, about 140 K.m. from Nagpur located the Monsanto official and took him to their field where a complete failure of ‘Paras Sudarshan’ Bt cotton seed was shown to him.
When the Monsanto representative failed to admit the lapse, he was severely beaten up by the farmers.
It was reported that even a local agriculture officer did not come to his rescue.
This, from accounts in daily papers in Vidarbha and the Marathwada region of Maharashtra where more than 4 million hectares under Bt cotton cultivation are reporting the flood of bogus seed supplied local agents of American cotton seed MNC giant Monsanto.
At this point, although the situation was reported, the administration has failed to take any action of this serious issue. Full story...
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As Bt Cotton turns 10, observational data certifies it a Super-Flop
ReplyDelete2011-12 will mark ten years since the GoI permitted the commercialization of transgenic cotton commonly known as Bt cotton. The issue of transgenic cotton had been and continue to be one that generates heated controversy with claims made by civil society and counter claims made by Bt seed manufacturers. This paper, in 3 parts, tries to analyze whether 10 years of observational data gives us any clues that can dampen the fires of this controversy. Specifically, it tries to answer two questions, both related to the main touted claims of the Bt industry:
a. Is Bt either a necessary or a sufficient explanation for increased cotton productivity?
b. Have Bt succeeded in decreasing pest infestation in cotton to indirectly boost productivity and consequently bring about reduction in pesticide expenses?
Read more: http://devconsultancygroup.blogspot.com/2011/07/as-bt-cotton-turns-10-observational.html