Pro-GM scientists contest linking farmers' suicide to Bt cotton

NEW DELHI: A group of agri scientists have contested reports linking farmers suicide in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra with failure of Bt cotton and has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to allow newer plant technology benefit cultivators by lifting moratorium on Bt brinjal.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, the experts disputed reports that failure of Bt cotton is driving farmers in Vidarbha to commit suicide.

A copy of the letter has also been sent to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.

The government put a moratorium on Bt brinjal in February 2010 in view of protest from anti-GM groups.

"The scientific community is highly disturbed by the persistent campaign against Bt cotton by the activists who spread misinformation, negatively influencing the public mind on the performance of Bt cotton and benefits accrued from it," the letter, a copy of which was made available to the media, said.

Highlighting benefits of Bt cotton, scientists said prior to 2002, for decades, cotton crops were devastated by bollworms, causing over 60 per cent yield losses despite spraying a variety of chemical insecticides, often exceeding 20 times for a single crop, as these insect pests had developed resistance.

Average yield of cotton in India increased from 308 kg per hectare in 2001-02 to 499 kg per hectare in 2011-12 and cotton production rose from 13.6 million bales in 2002-03 to 35.5 million bales in 2011-12,concomitant with steep increase in adoption of Bt cotton between 2002 and 2011, they said.

On linking Bt cotton with farmers suicide, they said, reports from reputed institutes have denied it.