Four years of bitter harvest

“We were cheated by the seed companies. We did not get the yield promised by them,not even half of it. And the expenditure involved was so high that we incurred huge debts. We have heard that the government is now planning commercial cultivation of Bt brinjal. But we do not want Bt seeds of any crop anymore,” says Sahebrao Yawliker,a farmer.

With reddened leaves and shrivelled flowers of Bt cotton,the four-acre cultivation of farmer Anil Kale,adjacent to a greener brinjal fields,looks dull. “The red leaves are due to a disease called ‘lalya’,a rare one earlier. The stems are attacked by white flies. Even though the yield was less,it was stable. Now,to get rid of these flies,we have to spray pesticides four to five times more than that of normal cotton,” says Kale.

Ironically,those who push for GM crops underline that a major advantage of Bt crops is that they require minimal pesticides. Director of Research,Mahatma Phule Agricultural University,Dr Subhash Mehetre says that since the yield potential of Bt cotton is high,it requires more fertilizers. “Yes,Bt cotton requires more fertilizers,but then it also gives more yield. The expenditure involved,therefore,would be high,” he says.

The farmers,however,say there is little guarantee of getting back even what one spends . “Bt cotton requires huge quantities of fertilizers and pesticides. Even the seeds are expensive. If you calculate the expenditure and the outcome,the normal cotton cultivation is a better option,” says another farmer.

However,Mehtre is of the view that the decline in yield could be due to other factors like climatic change and lack of awareness about scientific methods of cultivation. “There are many misconceptions about GM crops. One is that it causes health hazards,which is untrue. Most farmers are not aware of the proper scientific methods to cultivate Bt cotton. According to statistics,there has been a considerable increase in cotton production over the last few years,” he says. But he wouldn’t bet on the viability of GM crops for the poor farmers of the country.

The brouhaha over the health hazards of GM products may not have reached the villagers,but the death of seven cows after eating Bt cotton plants has created quite a commotion. “We don’t want to take any chance. We have lost our cows. It’s better to stay away from things that are alien to us,” says another farmer,Vinod Ambadas Thaywade.

But district superintendent sgriculture officer of Amravati S Mule rubbished that the deaths were due to eating Bt cotton plants.

According to Dr K P Prabhakaran Nair,eminent international agricultural (soil) scientist,animals may have died after eating Bt cotton plants. “The death could be primarily due to ulceration in stomach. The biopsy tests done on the cattle shows that. Ruminants,especially cattle,have a different digestive system.

Ulceration can lead to severe internal bleeding. In addition,there could be hallucinogenic effects where in cases of cattle or sheep meet with instant death after accidentally grazing into Bt cotton fields,” he says.

Fake seeds that are sold under the label of Bt cotton in the market and unavailability of indigenous cotton seeds are other causes of worry.

According to Chandraprabha Bokey of Maharashtra Organic Farming Federation,the local market is flooded with many varieties of seeds that confuse farmers. “There is no proper system in place to keep a check on such things. They go by what the seed companies say,” she says.