Tamilnadu farmers affected by 'BT' cotton failure compensated
29 Jan '07
1 min read
BT cotton dealers Mahyco in India, have offered compensation to 125 farmers of Omalur and Kadayampatty areas of Tamilnadu affected by cultivation of BT cotton, during a function held in Poosaripatty near Omalur on Sunday.
State Agriculture Minister, Veerapandy S Arumugam distributed compensation of Rs9.86 lakh to 88 farmers yesterday.
About 125 farmers of Omalur and Kadayampatty reported huge losses in cultivation of Mahyco BT cotton seeds in over 198 acres.
On State Agriculture Minister Veerapandy S Arumugam's instructions, Tamil Nadu Agriculture University (TNAU) scientists, several NGO's and environmental groups conducted studies to find causes for failure of Mahyco supplied BT cotton seeds in the region.
TNAU studies reported that variation in soil condition was the major cause for BT seeds failure.
State Government convinced Mahyco to pay compensation of Rs 5000 per acre to affected farmers and asked TNAU officials and Mahyco staff to extend necessary technical support to farmers before cultivation.
Seed Certification Officers of Salem, Coimbatore, Trichirapalli, Madurai and Vellore were handed over five vehicles worth Rs 21.25 lakh, by the Minister.