Debate crops up

New Delhi, Aug. 8: A government study that detected problems in genetically modified Bt cotton in India has stirred activists into alleging that government approval agencies ignored flaws in the technology and cleared the plants for cultivation.

In a letter to the environment ministry, Gene Campaign, a non-government organisation, has alleged that Bt cotton varieties were approved even after results from government institutions revealed problems in the plants.

However, scientists who conducted the study and an official involved in the approval process said that while Bt technology used in the country might be imperfect, it is a good pest management tool and has helped farmers.

“It’s unfortunate that our results are being cited to wage a war against genetically modified products,” said Keshav Kranthi, a senior scientist at the Central Institute of Cotton Research in Nagpur. “This technology is important for the future, but it needs to be refined.”

Genetically modified Bt cotton plants make a protein called Cry1Ac that kills bollworms as they eat the plants.

But the study by Kranthi and his colleagues has indicated that the levels of Cry1Ac in some cultivated varieties of Bt cotton decrease over time and are not always high enough to protect the plants.

The government has approved several Bt cotton varieties for cultivation since 2002. Indian farmland growing Bt cotton has expanded from 72,000 hectares to 1.2 million hectares over the last three years. Kranthi said the study was aimed at “identifying problems in Bt cotton and improving the technology”.

Monsanto, the company that provided the technology to create Bt cotton, said it has always made it clear to the government and farmers that under heavy insect pressure, there would be need for insecticide sprays. A spokesperson said the benefits of Bt cotton “are clear and, when properly managed, are not diminished by the reduction of the protein later in the season”.

But New Delhi-based Gene Campaign, which has been demanding transparency in regulatory approvals, has said the Genetic Engineering Advisory Committee, the country’s apex body for approving genetically modified products, has had access to the scientific data from the research centre since 2003.

“This evidence has been available to the GEAC (advisory panel), yet it continued to release more Bt cotton varieties,” Gene Campaign said.

The NGO has sent copies of the letter to the Prime Minister’s Office and the ministers for science and technology and agriculture.

The letter said the apex body’s website contained reports from the research centre that had pointed out high variability in the production of Cry1Ac by Bt cotton plants.