Please find below a representative sampling of submissions from August, 2000 - November, 2000. Some submissions have been edited for length. Only those submissions which were not accompanied by a name, location, and valid e-mail address have been omitted.

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I think it will definetly help the Indian farmers. The technology of transgenics has been misunderstood by the people and government in India.. this can be rectified by making this them understand about this wonderful technology in a simpler way.

Vijayanand Nadella
Ohio, USA
vn309200@oak.cats.ohiou.edu

I think it will benefit the farmers in a big way. It's a blessing in disguise.

Bhavneet Singh
Karnal(Haryana)
bkaliana@mailroom.com

If Bollgard succeeds there will be no business for pest companies. That's why these people are making disturbance on experiment fields.

Jayavardhan
kadumur kurnool andhrapradesh
salkutijaya@rediffmail.com

Why should India farmers lag behind? Since last few years cotton production in India has gone down. But not because lack of improved varieties, it was always due to mismanagement specially controlling insects. Yes, Indian farmers should adopt Bt. cotton, but only after through examination and it should be made clear that whether Monsanto is dumping their terminator gene in form of Bt. Seeds. So Indian farmers should wait for some time.

R. Mathew
Indore. M.P. India
mathew_pack@hotmail.com

I think that a farmer has the right to use the latest breakthroughs in the field of agriculture as entrepeneurs do in other fields. The farmer has the right to freedom of choice and type of seeds to use for his benefit. Much as most people would like to believe the average Indian Punjabi farmer is quite well versed and open to using new technologies to his advantage.

capt m s bedi
fazilka,punjab
buntybedi@hotmail.com

Respected sir,

Yes, according to me as lots of farmers have committed suicide due to financial burden through private money lenders mainly in Punjab and Maharashtra. Technically, I would like to say that in order to meet our demands either we will have to adopt this genetically improved cotton or we should switch towards other cropping systems.

Vijay Bharti, SRF,
Msc.AG(Agronomy) Div. of agricultural Engg.
IARI,New Delhi
Vijay_bharti@hotmail.com

Certainly yes, cotton is one of the most important crops in India. Such highly beneficial technology, if allowed to be accepted, can save farmers cost and worries and they can remain assured of freedom from pest attack.

Kheem.S.Khetwal
Maharastra
Khetwal@rediffmail.com

There is a great future for genetically modified crops all over the world. In India they have a great scope as we have to cater to large populations. I certainly believe that Indian farmers can be benefitted by using Bt-cotton. But the farmers must be made aware about the consequences if regulatory measures are not followed properly. Certainly GM crops have a bright future provided they are grown judiciously

Meenakshi Munshi
NCPGR, JNU, New Delhi
meenakshimunshi@yahoo.com

1. It is still early days to make a claim or say for sure that Bt cotton is the saviour. The number of varieties and environmental conditions that have to be addressed requires a more thorough and diligent analysis

2. In terms of the protection that has to be given to neighbouring fields by having a suitable gap, in whatever form -- this will be the difficult aspect in implementation. Legal enforcement is difficult and it will be unfair to the neighbours.

Sankaran Nandakumar
Hyderabad
nandkumr@hd2.vsnl.net.in

Transgenic seeds are the remedy for the growing population and there may be issues arising out it. But we should carefully ascertain the pros and cons and monitor it. Monitoring is the key to success of transgenic seeds. According to my survey the farmers and dealers dealing with seeds see no problem with the usage or selling of transgenic seeds. In fact, they are willing to stock these seeds and push it across.

B V Raghunanda Gupta
Mysore
bvr_gupta@usa.net

Genetically improved cotton can certainly be of a great help to the Indian farmer. The Indian farmer always struggles with the costs of production and since the pesticides make up a major portion of the costs, any technological advance that reduces costs and also helps to reduce environmental damage is of great help. I strongly support the use of genetically improved cotton and also genetically improved foods.

Tushar Borse
Dhule Maharashtra
tusharborse@usa.net

Genetically improved cotton will certainly be boon to Indian farmers. You cannot act against the will and desire of farmers. And you cannot conceal truth for ever. Now the Indian Government has sensed this and Monsanto has got permission for having trials.

When all other corporate giants had sight, Monsanto had vision and that is the strength of Monsanto in this cutting edge technology - Biotechnology. One step of Monsanto in India - a Giant leap to farming community across the country. I believe that -- someday to benefit of the farmer -- will soon become a near reality. A revolution is ready to explode. I dream big on behalf of my country's backbone -- Farmers.

Dr. K. Siva
Bangalore
ksiva04@vsnl.net

The release of Bt cotton variety will be definitely good for farmers' economy, but the big question here is whether the technology will reach to the farmers! ICAR is doing thousands of research and technology developments, but the stark reality is that more than 50% farmers of India are still using the age-old farming practices! If ICAR has not been able to transfer the modern agricultural techniques to farmers I really doubt that it will be successful in biotechnological race!

On the other hand private companies have more resources and more freedom to implement it and popularize it among the farmers (at least they are not chained to stiff bureaucratic procedures and they can take their own decisions!). As long as the government is maintaining the monopoly of controlling the agricultural sector, it's not going to improve. We have enough cultivable land to produce 5 times more in agriculture, but the reality is our per hectare production is too low in almost every crop! There has been development (e.g. the great green revolution) but in patches, they were not uniform and country-wide.

I would suggest that Monsanto or any other private company who wants to be successful in long term in India should send their representatives directly to these poor farmers of India and demonstrate the modern agriculture and its benefits! Then the farmers will take more interest in biotechnological development or genetically modified crops!

Sheo Mohan Singh
Munich, Germany
sheomohan@hotmail.com

It will be very useful to Indian farmers. Monsanto also done very good job to select good company of cotton seeds like Mahyco, they have good line of cotton variety. Hope to release Bt. cotton seeds in 2001 kharif season.

Pravin Patel
Rajkot
patel_agro@yahoo.com

Use of Bt. cotton by Indian farmers will definitely help to improve not only the yield but also the over-all economy of the farmers.

S.S. Kushwaha
Bangalore
kushwa@hotmail.com

Cotton farming in India has always been a risky game. ICAR's decision to come up with genitically modified varieties, which will be resistant to a broad spectrum of pests is definitely a boon for the farmers here. But speed in which the technology transfer takes place through government channels is pathetic. Thus responsible MNCs must take initiative to make it happen efficiently. This will be heartily accepted by the farmer community.

Vivek Joshi
Pune
vivekjoshi@mail.com

Cotton uses large amounts of pesticides. Transgenetic cotton will solve this. The next step will be to reduce water consumption. Transgenetic cotton will not solve this. Allowing bacteria/algea to synthesize cotton would be the next logical transgenetic step.

Henry Brown
New Mexico
hbrown@pnm.com

Definitely. If it thoroughly incorporates diferent aspects of bio-diversity. Needful examination of its effect on humans as well as on livestock.

Bhagirath
Delhi
bc@nistads.res.in