Bio Tech – Corporate Genetic Imperialism

Bio Technology (BT) must be ‘Bharat Tomorrow’, India must embrace the Bio Technology in a big way, in order to provide food for its countrymen constituting 17 per cent of global population with disproportionately smaller arable and irrigated land area.

Crops that were altered using the Bio-Technology and genetic engineering techniques are known as Genetically Manipulated (GM) crops or transgenic crops. Cotton plants incorporated with Bio Technology (BT) genes are popularly known as BT cotton. BT cotton is a GM or transgenic crop.
BT- Bacillus Thuringiensis is a ubiquitous soil inhabiting bacteria. People engaged in farming activity and working with the soil are invariably in physical contact with this bacteria. BT is not harmful to humans. Earlier cultured BT was used as a spray to control lepidopterous larval pests on various crops. Cultured BT has certain short comings like the short shelf life, vulnerability to sunlight and the BT has to be there on the feeding surface when the larva devours the plant.
BT cotton is the only transgenic crop approved for commercial cultivation in India. Incorporated BT genes produce a toxin that destroys gut cells of lepidopterous larval pests. BT cotton has reduced the insecticides application and crop failures due to borer attacks. Of late pest resurgence is being noticed in all the cotton growing tracts of the country wherein some of the earlier minor pests are posing a bigger threat.
At first Cry1Ac (Mon 531 event) incorporated cotton hybrids were introduced into the country as BG-I. When the Cry1Ac was on the verge of going into public domain elsewhere, Monsanto came out with stacked genes version of BT cotton known as BG-II carrying two genes Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab (MON 15985 event). To promote the BG-II and to dissuade others from using BG-I, Monsanto declared the BG-I as a failure and asked its sub-licensees to sell only BG-II.
Original BT cotton research was not aimed at India. Indian introduction of BT cotton is a horizontal business expansion for making profits. Monsanto through its Indian joint venture MMB (Mahyco Monsanto Biotech) is making disproportionately huge profits vis-à-vis its investments.

Cry1Ac gene that was abandoned by the Monsanto calling it a failure has spread far and wide into cotton ecosystem of the country. Cry1Ac is not patented in India. Cry1Ac is freely available everywhere, passed through all environmental tests and is fully in public domain. Technically, legally and practically speaking Cry1 Ac can be used freely in the conventional breeding programmes for development of BT cotton varieties or hybrids by anyone in the country. Fresh Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) approval is not mandatory for the new varieties evolved using Cry1Ac. But Indian scientists and farmers are still in confusion whether to use it or not. The giant of Indian agriculture Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) should have cleared the air regarding the hassel free use of Cry1ac in conventional breeding programmes. ICAR seems to be in deep slumber.
In spite of, seeds being non-patentable, and no protection available to the trait value and genes in India, Indian farmers are being fleeced in the name of trait value in the post BT cotton era.

Gene sequences are referred as events in scientific parlance. Any particular BT gene/event would have behaved in the same way in all the cotton varieties/Hybrids. In a logical course of action, GEAC should have given clearance on gene basis. Once an event was permitted there was no need to approach the GEAC again and again for seeking permission for new varieties carrying the same permitted event.
Any gene that was introduced into the country would have quickly gone into the environs by gene flow and thereby into public domain. The gene flow could have happened innocuously or deliberately by human intervention. In the absence of patents, the genes that were flown out of the introduced hybrid are in public domain. Event based clearance would have paved the way for myriad Generic BT versions – akin to generic drugs.
GEAC’s policy of giving clearance on individual Varietal / Hybrid basis has created a de-facto patent regime in favour of MMBL. Giving clearance on varietal basis is tantamount to inventing the wheel again and again. Varietal based permission by GEAC has converted the environmental clearance into a pseudo patent regime.
ICAR should have briefed the government on issues related to BT cotton and GM crops and the course the government should take in reaping the benefits of BT cotton. Government of India from its side should have directed the ICAR to develop its own versions of GM cotton.
ICAR with more than two thousand crore of annual budget is nowhere in BT cotton scenario. Companies with less than ten lakh rupees of paid-up capital are selling commercial BT cotton.
Monsanto India on its website claims to have given licence to 28 companies who in turn are said to have converted their germ plasm to BT, thereby making available a choice of more than 300 new BT cotton hybrids to the farmers. But the fact is, there are many repetitions among these three hundred approved BT cottons.
Dr Norman Borlaug who is called the father of the Green Revolution observed— “Never before in the history of agriculture has a transplantation of high yielding varieties coupled with an entirely new technology and strategy been achieved on such a massive scale, in so short a period of time, and with such great success.” These importations helped in saving three to five years' time in reaping the benefits from the Green Revolution.
India uses about four crore packets of cotton seed, presently priced at Rs ­900/- per packet. The above mentioned step will not only bring down cotton seed price to somewhere around Rs 100/- per packet, but would also reduce the pressure on cotton farmer. Varietal based cultivation uses more seed per acre, but farmers can also save and use their own produce as seed.
Switching over to BT cotton varieties suitable for high density planting will dramatically improve the cotton production and productivity. Many suitable varieties developed over the years all over the country needs to be considered for BT conversions.

Average yield of cotton in India is 540kgs per hectare. We use predominantly hybrid cotton seeds. While the country that produces 1,900 kgs, per hectare uses different varieties. Hybrid seed cultivation in both non-BT and BT times helped the seed companies in improving their bottom lines. Hybrid seed production in cotton is perpetuating child labour in the rural communities in seed production locations.
BT cotton is undoubtedly eco-friendly; it has reduced the application of pesticides. But technology should have come much cheaper.
In 1985, the seed industry was dominated by notified public sector varieties and hybrids in all the crops excepting in maize to some extent. Private hybrids constituted a very small percentage. Ever since ICAR budgets kept on increasing, salaries and perks of scientists and supporting staff reached to a very comfortable level if not to be termed luxurious levels, new buildings were added, modern vehicles were procured, flight travels increased but the graph of output, is only heading downwards. The output of ICAR system as a whole is at dismal level. Even at its current defunct level ICAR is talking of commercialisation.
Job of the ICAR is to give new crop varieties, new hybrids and new appropriate technologies. ICAR must be a technology provider to the nation. ICAR must not be a seller of technology.
In the absence of original reseach and development, Indian agriculture is thriving on the spillovers of the western agricultural research. BT technology too is a spillover. We do not have our own pesticide, fungicide or any other unique products and molecules. We do not have appropriate machinery to suit our small farms. Even for an efficient farm sprayer, import is the solution.
The classic example of the ineptitude of Indian institutions is the approval of BikaneriNarma BT variety and NHH-44 hybrid by GEAC. Bikaneri Narma is supposed to carry BN la106, a modified truncated version Cry 1Ac developed by the NRCPB (National Research Centre on Plant Biotechnology) of IARI. Later it was proved that Bikaneri Narma BT is carrying Cry 1Ac (Mon 531 Event) of Monsanto.
It is high time the government should give a clarion call to the public sector. Agriculture research in this country should be taken up by public sector only. Public sector can only provide the necessary technology for farm needs. Private sector at best can only be a disseminator.
If the Information Technology (IT) is India Today, Bio Technology (BT) must be Bharat Tomorrow. India must embrace the Bio Technology in a big way, in order to provide food for its people constituting 17 per cent of global population with disproportionately smaller arable and irrigated land area.
Besides, we are losing every year lakhs of acres of arable land permanently for non-agricultural purposes. As the time passes, we must have to produce more and more from less and less land. We need to think out of the box.

-SR Jayaveer, (The writer is former Seed Certification Officer, Andhra Pradesh State Seed Certification Agency (APSSCA), Hyderabad and is the Director of Gemini Seeds Private Limited, Hyderabad)