Land under Bt cotton up by 63 pc in 2007

The area covered under Bt cotton, the only genetically modified...

The area covered under Bt cotton, the only genetically modified (GM) crop allowed in India for commercial cultivation, has surged by 63 per cent to 6.2 million hectares in 2007 from 3.8 million hectares in the previous year, according to a study.

“There has been a 125-fold rise in area under biotech crop in the country in the past six years, while globally it is only 67-fold increase in 12 years,” said Clive James, chairman, International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), while releasing the 2007 report on Tuesday. The study said that 3.8 million Indian farmers opted for Bt cotton in 2007 compared to 2.3 million in 2006.

According to ISAAA—a non-profit research body that advocates large-scale use and application of genetically modified crops—the global area under GM crops rose by 12 per cent at 114.3 million hectares in 2007 compared to 102 million hectares in the previous year. India, the world’s second-largest cotton producer, hopes to produce a record output of 31 million bales (I bale170 kg) this year compared to 28 million bales last year.

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“The story of Bt cotton in India is remarkable,” he said, adding, “as in the last six years, the productivity of cotton almost doubles, insecticide use cut in half, and the country was transformed from a cotton importer to a significant exporter”.

The study also said that the GM technology alone will not be sufficient to meet the global food demand and stressed on adopting an integrated approach to increase the crop yield. “GM or ‘biotech’ crops are not a panacea, but important,” James said after the function.