East of Eden, But Not Far

6/16/2016
EastOfEden,ButNotFar
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16 JUNE 2016
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11 APRIL 2016
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East Of Eden, But Not Far

Is India close to seeing the back of Monsanto?
L O L A N AYA R
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Monsantos current CEO, Hugh Grant, joined the company in 1981 and was elected prez
in 2003
In spite of increasing protests against Monsanto, Grant was hailed as CEO of the Year in
2010
Here, it is led by Shilpa Divekar Nirula under the name Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (India)
Ltd
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http://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/eastofedenbutnotfar/296941
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Is Monsanto being shown the door in India? If so, what will happen to thousands of farmers, who
over more than one decade, have adopted the genetically modi ed seeds of Monsanto and are
cultivating it in over 95 per cent of the area? The March 9 seed pricing notice (reportedly a result
of the pressure of the RSS on the government) shows that the authorities are no longer keen
about the multinational which has inspired a Tumblr blog dedicated just to the hate memes
about it. Unfortunately though, being loathed has rarely stopped it from successful arm-twisting
until now.
There have been protests about the high royalty collected by Monsanto as trait value (a fee for
technology traits). But what has farmers really worried is the increasing cost of production.
Monsantos Bt cotton has become susceptible to the pink bollworm despite a double stack of the
resistant gene. But its not all about the farmers. Accusing the US MNC of abusing its market
dominance, Ashwani Mahajan of Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, an af liate of RSS, denied there was
anything sudden about their opposition to Monsantos policies. It goes back more than 6 to 7
years, rst because they have been selling the seeds to Indian farmers at a much steeper price
than what they charge in China. Moreover, as the company itself has admitted, their Bt seeds are
no longer providing safeguard against the pink bollworm, says Mahajan. In truth, the RSS has
been grudging about Monsantos presence since it started selling Bt cotton in India in 2002.
The infestation in the case of bollworm has risen to such an extent that even after processing,
they have been found in the bales, points out Kishore Tiwari, a farm activist from Vidarbha, the
drought-prone region of Maharashtra which has been witnessing the highest farmer suicides.
The manifestation and widespread damage to cotton crops last year due to attack by white y has
further compounded the situation. Farmers allege that Bt cotton in particular is susceptible to
the white y.
Experts warn that it is just a matter of 3-4 years before even the American bollworm becomes
resistant to the Bt gene. Why should the debate be on Monsanto going away? We should instead
debate what the farmers wantwhich is short duration cotton varieties with technical inputs to
provide protection against pests, says Jaipal Reddy, who grows Bt cotton on most of his land in
Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh.
While acknowledging the role played by Monsantos technology in achieving higher cotton yields
till few years back, Reddy is critical of the high seed costs. He also wonders why Monsanto chose
to use hybrid cottons in India to develop its Bt seeds instead of indigenous cotton varieties like
Narasimha, which is sturdier, has good yield, shorter growth cycle and is thus less susceptible to
pest attacks.
Given the stagnant growth of Bt cotton in the last few years and the resistance developed by pink
bollworm to the Bt gene, Reddy is banking on the Nagpur-based Central Institute for Cotton
Research (CICR) to come up with more robust technology. Dr K.R. Kranthi of CICR is among a
growing number of scientists who have been questioning why India let itself be caught in the
hybrid trap, which has stopped it from taking full advantage of the Bt cotton technology (see the
interview). The general perception is that hybrids give higher yields. With 95 per cent of Indias
cotton area under Bt hybrids, its yields should be the highest. Yet the truth is that Indias seedcotton yields are way below the global average of 2,700 kg/hectare, despite these countries
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mostly cultivating straight varieties. In fact, Pakistan and China have rejected the idea of Btcotton hybrids entirely.
Farm activists in India have been accusing Monsanto of abusing its dominant position by
charging unfair prices. What started off as a movement to support farmers with states like
Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra taking legal recourse to the curtail the price of GM seeds, has
seen many private-sector seed companies coming together as a consortium to challenge
Monsantos monopolistic practices. Privately, many of the seed companies admit that Monsanto
is way ahead in its technology investment and expertise. But as far as India is concerned, Monsantos exit will give a boost to public sector research, provided more attention is paid to taking
outcome to farmers.
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AUTHORS: LOLA NAYAR
TAGS: AGRICULTURE, GM SEEDS
SECTION: BUSINESS
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