Bt cotton has raised India's export potential - Report

14 Mar '12

1 min read

Biotech (Bt) seeds should be permitted in production as they are a catalyst of transformation in agriculture and has also greatly benefited the farmers, which is well evident from the fact that post introduction of Bt cotton, India's cotton output has almost doubled, a report on the “State of Indian Agriculture 2011-2012” said.

With almost 90 percent of the area under cotton cultivation in the country being under Bt cotton, the crop yield has increased nearly 70 percent, which has created an export potential of over 100 billion worth of raw cotton, the report stated.

According to the report, private sector players are increasingly providing certain varieties of high yielding cotton seeds.

The report urges the Government to introduce more such reforms to enhance country's cotton productivity. These reforms may be in the form of policy and legislative reforms for variety enhancement, introduction of flexible variety release legislation, revival of public sector and shoring up emergence of domestic, private sector seed firms.

However, the report cautions that while using genetically modified varieties, the Government must be vigilant about the dangers that these varieties may pose to the environment.

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