The Central Institute of Cotton Research (CICR) has been allowed to market domestically developed straight line varieties of BT cotton. This could sharply bring down the seed cost of cotton farmers. Indian varieties of BT cotton will be available at just Rs 150 per kg compared to the Rs 2,000 per kg cost of BT cotton seeds manufactured under license from US-based biotechnology firm Monsanto.
The patent in the US ended in 2012. Since then other countries like Pakistan have developed 31 new varieties of BT cotton States like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka have reported a high incidence of farmer suicides since the cultivation cost of BT cotton is high and the losses incurred on account of a crop failure are tough to absorb for small farmers.
Some of this could get addressed if the cost of cotton seeds comes down through domestically developed varieties. CICR along with 11 agricultural universities in India has developed 21 varieties of Indian BT cotton and is gearing up to take these varieties to farmers by 2017. Apart from the lower cost, Indian BT cotton varieties can also be reused. CICR conducts basic and strategic research on cotton to improve yield, fiber quality and by products.
www.cicr.org.in/
