GM cotton is less likely
to suffer yield losses than non-GM cotton when bollworms are the
yield-limiting factor.

Except that it doesn't work...

regards
Marcus


GM crops under fire after cotton venture fails

Bangkok Post, 12 November 2002

Farmers now find the augmented plant cannot resist pests after all. As
activists demand an inquiry, India is having second thoughts about an
ambitious foray into a modified foodstuff, GM mustard.

India, which opened its doors to genetically modified (GM) crops in
March this year, is in a difficult position now. The opposition to GM
crops is mounting in face of reports that the GM cotton variety
approved in March has failed to deliver in farmers' fields. And this
opposition has forced authorities to go slow on other GM crops in the
pipeline. Last week a government panel postponed decision on GM
mustard, which if approved would have become the first genetically
modified food crop in India.

The government's Department of Biotechnology has emerged a strong
advocate of GM crops, although the mandate of increasing production
through agricultural research lies with other departments. It has
drawn up an ambitious plan of promoting GM crops in India.

The department was instrumental in getting the genetically modified Bt
cotton approved and was keen to have GM mustard cleared last week.

Its technical panel on recombinant organisms had already given a
go-ahead to GM mustard. But the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee
of the ministry of environment - the final authority for approval of
GM crops - held back its decision.

The approval of Bt cotton - developed by Monsanto and sold by its
Indian ally Mahyco - had strong economic justification. India is the
world's third largest cotton grower having the largest area under
cotton cultivation, but it yields less than half the world average per
hectare. One reason for low productivity is the loss due to pest
attacks. By inserting genes from a bacteria - bacillus thuringiensis
(Bt) - into cotton seeds, Monsanto has developed new varieties that
are claimed to be resistant to bollworm attacks. Bt cotton was
approved so that it could enhance productivity.

But farmers who have grown Bt cotton in central India have found that
the crop is not resistant to pests and they have been advised by the
seed company to spray insecticides.

The department and other government agencies have not offered any
explanation for this reported failure of India's first GM crop. But
environmental groups have demanded an inquiry into the failure and
asked the department to withdraw the approval given to Monsanto.

When commercial approval was granted, Monsanto was asked to tell
farmers to set aside 20% area as ``refuge'' in a Bt cotton field. The
company markets Bt cotton seeds, along with traditional seeds to be
planted as refuge.

``But the company is providing the same hybrid cotton variety (which
has the Bt gene) as the non-Bt refuge. This means that in case pests
feed on Bt cotton, the company can always claim that it is the refuge
on which the insect is feeding. Why can't the department ensure that
the seeds for the refuge crop belong to another variety whose shape of
leaves, for instance, is different from that of the Bt cotton plant?''
said Devinder Sharma of Forum for Biotechnology, an NGO.

Despite adverse reports on Bt cotton, the department met last week to
consider approval of a genetically modified variety of mustard
developed by an Indian company called Pro-Agro Seeds. It is Indian arm
of the GM giant Aventis and PGS, a Belgian company.

This GM mustard is claimed to be resistant to glufosinate, a
broad-spectrum herbicide, and the company claims that the gene
modification will help increase mustard productivity by 20-25%.

Unlike cotton, mustard is a food crop in India. Rapeseed mustard is
one of the most important oilseed crops in India, cultivated on 6.68
million hectares, mainly in the northern plains. It is one of the
major sources of edible oil for human consumption and oilseed cakes
for animal feed. The projected demand for oilseed in India is around
34 million tonnes by 2020, of which around 14 million tonnes (41%) is
expected to be met by rapeseed mustard.

The new GM mustard variety with five foreign genes in it, including
one from tobacco, might pose risks for human health and the
environment. Green activists point out the expression of Brazil nut
protein in soybean has confirmed that genetic engineering could lead
to the expression of allergenic proteins. In the absence of detailed
scientific evaluation in India, GM mustard can be dangerous. In fact,
the committee has deferred a decision because of lack of
health-related data.

Another area of concern relates to its herbicide resistance. It has
been engineered to be herbicide-tolerant, so that when a field is
sprayed with herbicide, all plants except the GM mustard will die.

It is feared that the use of herbicide-tolerant GM mustard will
increase the use of herbicides, thus increasing the amount of toxic
residues in food products.

"Pro-Agro has developed this genetically modified mustard that resists
glufosinate, its own brand of herbicide. So, the company will sell its
GM seeds as well as the herbicide. If farmers don't use glufosinate,
they will not be able to control the weeds.

"This herbicide is already approved in India for tea gardens and can
easily find its way into mustard fields," says Sharma. GM mustard can
also be an emotional issue here, as it contains a tobacco gene. In
states like Punjab where mustard is grown and consumed on a large
scale, tobacco is banned under the tenets of Sikh religion. This might
delay the introduction GM mustard for some time.





Pests attack genetically modified cotton
National News - June 29, 2001


MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi (JP): Hundreds of hectares of the genetically
modified cotton fields at three villages in the regency of Bulukumba,
South Sulawesi, have been destroyed by pests identified as Helicoverpa
armigera and Spodoptera.

However, officials dealing with the genetically modified cotton
business said separately that there was "nothing to worry about."

Tri Soekirman, Corp. Communications manager of Monsanto, the supplier
of the genetically modified cotton from South Africa, said here on
Thursday that the pests were not dangerous.

"They are just larva which eat the leaves, but will not disrupt cotton
production," Tri told The Jakarta Post.

He said that based on a survey made by his team, the population of the
pests was still tolerable. "Therefore, pesticide is not necessary to
eliminate them. The farmers know how to handle them."

On Wednesday in Bulukumba, the leader of the genetically modified
cotton monitoring team, Ibrahim Manwa, voiced similar optimism that
"the pest population is still at tolerable levels."

He said 40 trees had been taken as samples from Balleanging village in
Bulukumba. "Out of the 40 trees, less than seven were attacked by the
pests. This means that the population of the pests is still very low,"
he said, showing dried cotton leaves which had been destroyed by
Spodoptera.

Ibrahim was in Bulukumba with the deputy head of the South Sulawesi
Agriculture Office, Karya.

The controversy over genetically modified cotton started in early May
this year when a total of 40 tons of Bollgard cotton seed belonging to
U.S.-based Monsanto was imported by Jakarta-based PT Monagro Kimia.

A number of activists have said that genetically modified products
must be prohibited from directly entering the province, and demanded
that such seeds be quarantined for detailed examination before being
distributed to the farmers.

It was Minister of Agriculture Bungaran Saragih who recommended the
importation of the seed and its distribution to seven regencies in
South Sulawesi.

State Minister for the Environment Sonny Keraf criticized the
decision.

In Bulukumba regency alone, the genetically modified cotton was
planted on a total of 1,571.75 hectares, managed by 80 farmers' groups
consisting of 2,003 families.

At least 180 hectares of the cotton fields in the village of
Balleanging, Ujungloe district, have been invaded by the pests.

Local farmers said that the pests started attacking the cotton in
mid-June.

Many farmers have complained about the pests. They said the supplier
had claimed that the cotton variety was resistant to all kinds of
pests. (27/sur)