For India having limited land resource in the face of increasing demand for food [for rapidly expanding population and increased nutritional intake], there is an urgent need for manifold increase in crop output from every unit cultivable land area to increase supply. The use of genetically modified [GM] crops offers the possibility of reducing crop loss [and resultant increase in yield] by killing pests and combating disease in a manner which saves substantially on pesticide use and is environmentally benign.
Yet, Bt cotton is the only GM crop so far allowed for cultivation in India. It is a genetically modified plant in which a gene from the soil bacterium, bacillus thuringensis [Bt], is inserted into the genome of cotton. It kills bollworms that ravage cotton crops. Bt cotton was introduced in 2002 and is currently cultivated in around 12 million hectare covering major states such as Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra etc.
However, GM in food crop has not been allowed till date. On October 15, 2009, the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee [GEAC] of the ministry of environment and forest [MoEF] – the regulatory body for approving GM crops – approved Bt brinjal for commercial use. As in case of Bt cotton, herein also the soil bacterium Bt is inserted into the genome of brinjal. This insertion produces a protein, Cry1Ac which behaves as a toxin against the shoot and fruit borer [SFB], a pest that commonly affects brinjal.
The approval was granted based on reports submitted by the Maharashstra Hybrid Seeds Company Limited [Mahyco], the Indian subsidiary of the US-based company Monsanto which had conducted studies in collaboration with the Tamil Nadu Agriculture University [TNAU] and the University of Agricultural Sciences [UAS], Dharwad, for development of Bt brinjal.
Doing a volte face, the then, environment minister, Jairam Ramesh under the erstwhile UPA – dispensation imposed, in 2010, an indefinite embargo on commercial use of Bt brinjal. This was purportedly on the ground of inadequately addressing health and environmental risks, inadequate safety guidelines, lack of transparency in sharing test data, implications to seed sovereignty of farmers and the lack of informed choice for consumers. The minister also raised some concerns on the field testing by Mahyco/TNAU/UAS and the process of evaluation by GEAC.
The blockage, despite approval by the competent authority [read: GEAC], has thus denied a legitimate channel for supply of Bt-brinjal. Meanwhile, farmers have already taken up its cultivation [illegal]. The tests on brinjals taken from a farmers’ field in a village in Fatehabad district of Haryana have shown the presence of not just Cry1Ac gene but also more alien pest-protecting genes.
This is a clear pointer to large scale use of GM brinjal as those involved in the supply business won’t get into it merely to cater to few farmers. While, extant rules may bar distribution of its seeds, there is a distinct possibility of the same Bt brinjal finding way to the fields either from neighboring Bangladesh where its commercial is already permitted [since 2013] or even from Mahyco/TNAU/UAS – its developer in an unauthorized manner.
Pertinently, even in case of Bt cotton whose commercialization is permitted since 2002, there are instances of illegal use. According to the Field Inspection and Scientific Evaluation Committee [FISEC], a body of experts—chaired by the co-chair of the GEAC, around 15% of the seeds being used in major cotton-growing states comprise of unapproved herbicide-tolerant seeds.
This is because the seed developer viz. Mahyco faces a highly restrictive regulatory and pricing environment. It faces issues with regard to the patent for the gene sequence responsible for Bt trait [as per the order of Supreme Court dated January 8, 2019, the patent though valid for now, this is subject to the decision of Delhi High Court (DHC) where the matter is pending] and does not have the freedom to give license. Besides, even the max trait fee [royalty] payable to Monsanto is subject to control under Cotton Seed Price Control Order [CSPCO].
Under the Order, the current MRP of a packet of Bollgard II seed [450 grams] is fixed at a ‘uniform’ Rs 740/- which includes trait value of Rs 39/- or a mere 5% of the price [the company had challenged the order but till date, the court has not even started hearing the case]. This has dissuaded Monsanto from not only launching advanced versions of Bt cotton but also, new technology solutions such as for saline soils, drought and flood-resistant GM crops – badly needed to meet the challenges of fast changing climatic conditions.
Already, in August 2016, Monsanto had withdrawn the herbicide tolerant cotton seeds from the approval process. No wonder, this has made way for their illegal cultivation as reported by the FISEC. Even worse, these seeds are selling at Rs 1200-1500 per packet – almost double the MRP for Bollgard II seed [albeit approved] fixed by the union government. These unapproved seeds have increased the problem of resistant weeds and are responsible for the new threat posed to the cotton crop, that of pink bollworms.
Given the demonstrated benefits of GM crops, dubious elements will always find ways to supply such seeds even if these are not approved or the developer is unable to meet the demand due to a restrictive business environment [as for Bt cotton]. This will pose a grave threat to the crop and the environment. The only way to prevent this and ensure that farmers get access and fully exploit the potential of new solutions is to remove the hurdles in the way of innovators.
For this to happen, the government should shed its mindset which wrongly believes that the innovator is out there to exploit the patent to fleece farmers which is not true [otherwise, why would they adopt GM seeds in such large numbers]. Or else, none other than the farmers will be put to huge loss due to denial of access to new solutions and surreptitious entry of unapproved seeds.