Seed industry bodies FSII and NSAI on Wednesday demanded that the government should allow commercial cultivation of herbicide-tolerant Bt (HTBt) cotton at the earliest, as the crop variety is being grown illegally in some parts of the country, creating a Rs 1,500 crore informal seed market.
The Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII) and the National Seed Association of India (NSAI) stressed the need to introduce high-yielding varieties and new technologies to boost domestic cotton production and reduce imports.
India’s cotton production stands at around 29 million bales (of 170 kg each).
A study, Unauthorised Cultivation of HTBt Cotton in India: Extent, Drivers and Implications, was conducted by the South Asia Biotechnology Centre (SABC) with the support of these two associations. It covered 16 districts across Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, combining farmer surveys, supply-chain assessment and ELISA-based gene testing.
“Unauthorised herbicide-tolerant B
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