July 2007
July 27,Economic Times	Agri biotech among fastest growing in India: USDA As per a report by US Department of Agriculture (USDA), agricultural biotechnology, with a growth of 55% and revenues of over $229 million for FY07 is a frontrunner amongst the growing biotech sectors in India. Bt cotton has been a major success in India, with a surge in its coverage area in the past five years. The report, 'India Biotechnology' says that, Bt cotton now covers 70 percent of total cotton area under cultivation.
July 25,The Wall Street Journal	Science, technology can help advance the Green Revolution Agricultural biotechnology will become a critical tool to counter challenges of environment protection and growing food demand. Producing seeds that can resist diseases, salinity and drought will be a key challenge for plant breeders. Since 1996, genetically modified crops have spread to cover about 250 million acres globally. Biotechnology has enabled reduction in pesticide usage by 500 million pounds. Further research in biotechnology should be more focused on the poor and involve public-private partnerships to bear the development costs.
July 24,The Birmingham News	Seeds to weather drought According to Robb Fraley, chief technology officer at Monsanto, drought tolerance of crops is a need across geographies, as drought or water stress occurs every three to four years irrespective of the place or type of crop. Monsanto spends over $2 million daily on research towards developing better quality, drought-tolerant plants that are less susceptible to insects and weeds. Experiments of genetically engineered varieties of corn have shown higher yields compared to conventional seeds. Monsanto expects to offer this product to farmers after 2010. And, a drought-resistant cottonseed is likely to be available by 2016-2018.
July 20,Biotechnology Australia	Environmental Concerns Boost Support for GM Food Crops A survey by Biotechnology Australia shows a big leap in support of GM food crops from 46% in 2005 to 73% in 2007. This is due to the drought resistant and pollution control characteristics of the crops. The agency found that people attribute biotechnology with features like environmentally friendly fuels, efficient in recycling of water and tackling climate change and fighting salinity.
All India Crop Biotechnology Association	Q & A on Bt-cotton in India: Answers to more than 70 questions on all aspects. In his book Q & A on Bt-cotton in India, Manjunath has explained biotechnology. The different aspects of Bt-cotton have been clarified while giving scientific reasons about Bt, bollworms, usefulness, safety, performance and other related aspects. Though the statistics given in this book will see alterations in years to come, the scientific principles will remain quite the same.
July 11,Wall Street Journal via Live Mint	Assocham pushes for Bt cotton Assocham’s report, Bt Cotton Farming in India 2007 stated that in 2006, farmers earned more, with output growing 50% on account of Bt cotton. About 9,300 households in 465 villages make the basis of the Indicus report. Socio-economic conditions of farmers have improved due to higher income made possible by Bt cotton. A gross revenue profit of 162% as compared to non-Bt was witnessed. Pesticides expenditure decreased by 32%. Income per acre was Rs12, 541 as against Rs 4,484 of conventional cotton.
July 11,Business Standard (India)	Farmers prosper with Bt cotton cultivation Assocham's report 'Bt Cotton Farming in India' says growth of 50% in yield was seen in 2006 because of Bt cottonseed; adding Rs 7,039 crore to income. An increase of 162% in net profit was seen at Rs 7,757 when compared to conventional cotton. Non-Bt cotton output was Rs 4484 per acre while Bt cotton gave Rs 12,541 per acre. India now ranks third in the world due to use of Bt cotton. Expense of pesticides had decreased by Rs 934 per acre and cotton output is up by 31.20 million quintals. 40% of the farmers using Bt cotton say that they have to spend lesser time on fields thus giving them more time to spend with their children and their education. Villages where Bt is used witness better health, education and economic conditions.
July 5,Business Standard	Monsanto looks beyond Bt, to launch new tech Monsanto India is working on herbicide-resistant trait in cotton, Roundup Ready Flex (RRFlex), which may take another four years to complete the mandatory procedures for launch. In India, Monsanto introduced Bt cotton in 2005, and last year the company introduced the two-gene product, Bt 2. Farmers across the country have adopted the Bt cotton, accruing huge cost savings on account of reduced pesticide usage. The area under Bt cotton in India is expected to expand by 30-40% during this kharif season.