January 2008
Jan 31,The Financial Express	GM Golden Rice by 2011 GM golden rice, enriched with Vitamin A, is likely to be available by 2011. It will help to combat Vitamin A deficiency in children and feed the poor and needy. Golden rice contains beta- carotene, which is converted to Vitamin A by the human body. The Director General of International Rice Research Institute, Rober Zeigler, said that field trails of the variety are being conducted in Phillipines. Its research can be seen as a model for cooperation between public and private sectors.
Jan 29,Business Standard	The rise of Bt-cotton Bt cotton’s spectacular acceptance can be gauged from the fact that beginning from just 3 hybrids, now almost 140 hybrid varieties of Bt cotton are in use all over India. The area under hybrid variety has grown by 11% per year over the past 6 years and now covers more than 60% of cotton growing area. Bt-cotton varieties offer resistance against pests and reduce the need of pesticides. Hybrid varieties cost more than ordinary seeds but reduce use of pesticides by 17% and leads to 32% more yield, which brings down the total cost of production by 11% to Rs 223 per quintal. These are the findings of the study conducted by Hyderabad based Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS). The results of the study showed that Bt cotton gives better yields and net returns compared to ordinary varieties.
Jan 29,The Economic Times	Bt cotton farmers get more returns A research conducted by University of Agriculture science, Dharwad indicates that net returns for farmers in Karnataka using Bt cotton were Rs 13,168 per hectare compared to Rs 4,484 per hectare for farmers using ordinary seeds. A higher return for Bt cotton farmers was due to the increased yield and lower expenditure on pesticides. Their net returns were three times that of non-Bt farmers. The study was conducted on 180 farmers in Mysore, Raichur and Haveri districts. Bt cotton gave an excess yield of around four quintals per hectare and led to profits of Rs 66.2 crore in 2006-07 with the average saving of Rs 3,094 per hectare due to lesser pesticide use and also saving on 26 labour days for the farmers.
Jan 29,The Hindu Business Line	TN farmers take to Bt cotton in a big way Farmers in Tamil Nadu have gone back to cotton farming after discovering the benefits of use of Bt cotton. Pest attack and increased use of pesticides was making it unviable to cultivate cotton. The farmers using Bt cotton save Rs 200 an acre for each round of pesticide spray. With Bt cotton farmers need to spray pesticide only two to three times compared to 15 rounds of pesticide needed with ordinary seeds. In Tamil Nadu, the area under Bt cotton has increased by 30% to 2.85 lakh acres compared to last year. The nine major cotton-growing states in India have also witnessed a similar trend with the total area under Bt cotton increasing to 14.4 million acres against 3.1 million in 2005.
Jan 17,DNA India	Cotton blossoms beyond projections As per Cotton Advisory Board (CAB), the production of cotton in 2007-08 has increased by 30 lakh bales compared to 2006, taking it to an all time high of 310 lakh bales. Taking into account the inventory and the imports, total supply is expected to touch 364 lakh bales. On the demand side, CAB predicts an incremental growth of only about 12 lakh bales in the off-take by mills, while exports are slated to spurt by 7 lakh bales to 65 lakh bales. CAB estimates are based on consensus in a cross-section of the cotton economy and hence carry a high degree of acceptance.
Jan 15,Business Standard	Bt cotton acreage zooms over 70% India’s cotton production reached 31 million bales in 2007-08 due to the increased usage of Bt cotton. The hybrid variety captured over two-thirds of the cotton growing area this year compared with a little over one-third of the area in the previous cotton year. The area under Bt cotton cultivation increased 71.25% from 3.69 million hectares in 2006 to 6.33 million hectares this year. This increase in production of cotton would strengthen India’s position among the cotton producing countries as the global production of cotton is on a decline. As per estimates from The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) cotton production may reach 33.2 million bales in 2007-08.
Jan 15,The Financial Express	Biotech companies race for drought-tolerant crops With the threat of global warming, hotter temperatures and water shortages globally the situation is alarming as hotter weather was shrinking the food supply and pushing up prices. . US corn production declined by 5% due to drought in 2006. In Australia drought has persistent since 2002. Biotech firms are trying to develop new varieties of corn and other crops, which can withstand water scarcity using both genetic engineering as well as conventional breeding techniques. Field trials are being conducted in dry parts of Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota.
Jan 12,Business Standard	Bt cotton boosts farmers' income: CESS A study conducted by the Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS) has revealed that a farmer using Bt cotton can increase his net income by 83% as compared to a farmer using ordinary cotton seeds. According to the report, in Bt cotton, the net income improved by 83%, farm business income by 146 %, family labour income by 158 % and farm investment income by 222 % per acre over non-Bt cotton. The study states that although the cost incurred by using Bt cotton are 17% higher, the yield associated is also 32% higher, thereby bringing down the overall production cost. “This clearly shows that Bt cotton outperformed non-Bt cotton in regard to all the measures,” the report states. The study was conducted in 14 villages in AP. The area under Bt production has increased from 44,500 hectares in 2002-03 to 3.8 million hectares in 2006-07. Currently 40% of the total area under cotton cultivation is using Bt cotton. The results of the study, are a proof enough to explain the rapid rise in adoption of the transgenic technology in a matter of five years in India