INDIA: MP COTTON BT

MP's cotton trend: enter Bt, exit all else

More than a decade after Bt cotton was approved for commercial cultivation in the country, Madhya Pradesh has almost shunned other seed varieties of cotton despite conflicting reports about falling yields and the reservations of the state government.

The area under Bt cultivation, which MP farmers first took up 11 years ago, rose rapidly in the initial years, though it now appears to have settled in the range of 6 lakh hectares. The figures are at odds with the state government's claims about making efforts to promote non-Bt cotton. The last state economic survey, in fact, does not even cite figures for non-Bt varieties.

MP has an organic farming policy in place and the BJP government is opposed to genetically modified crops. It has already banned field trials and has written to the Centre registering its protest against the proposed Agriculture Bio-security Bill and Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India.

But the ideological opposition has neither helped wean farmers away from Bt cotton, which activists usually slam for being toxic, nor seen affinity growing towards non-Bt varieties. Dr S K Rao of the Jawaharlal Nehru Agriculture University says farmers prefer Bt cotton seeds because they give higher yields and reduce input costs by cutting down on the use of pesticide.

Head of the directorate of research services, Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Agriculture University, Gwalior, Dr H S Yadav says that the demand for nuclear and breeder seeds of non-Bt varieties is almost nil. "Occasionally, some farmer turns up and demands two or four kg," he says. He adds that though the area under cultivation has grown up, productivity has come down.

Jabalpur University was tasked by the state government to develop non-Bt varieties after sensing the onslaught of Bt cotton. It developed Jawahar Cotton-4 and Jawahar Cotton-5 varieties and got them registered with the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority, but has not succeeded in making them popular.

Agriculture Minister Ramkrishna Kusmaria, a votary of swadeshi, was at a loss to elaborate what benefits the state's organic policy has brought farmers while responding to a question in the assembly's recent session. In fact, the state government readily provided the acreage under Bt cotton but could not provide the details of cultivation of organic cotton in the state.

Under the centrally sponsored Mini-Mission-II of Technology Mission on Cotton, three exhibitions to demonstrate high-density planting systems are being set up in three districts to promote non-Bt cotton. The government is, however, keeping its fingers crossed on their success. Only 36 farmers in MP have registered for organic farming in 2013-14.

"The choice is between one Bt cotton variety and another," says Nilesh Desai of Hamara Beej Abhiyan and Beej Swaraj Abhiyan, MP, alleging that the non-Bt varieties have already gone out of the market because agriculture universities and bureaucrats toe the line of multinational seed companies.

The NGO had last year brought a report on a decade of Bt cotton in the state and insisted that use of pesticide had not reduced. The report argued that yields had already started to increase before Bt cotton arrived on the scene. In the first couple of years of Bt cotton, productivity increased but came down later, the report claimed.

Desai says there are as many as 40 varieties of Bt cotton seeds being sold by private companies in the state. Since farmers have stopped asking for non-Bt cotton seeds, companies have stopped producing them, he says, alleging that multinational companies are dictating terms to governments and bureaucrats.

Bharatiya Kisan Sangh president Suresh Gurjar claims cultivation of Bt cotton in the Nimad region of MP has come down this year while agreeing that the use of desi varieties is almost over. "When Gujarat farmers could develop Bt varieties, why can't governments and universities follow suit?" he says. He alleges that agriculture research studies are generally commercial in nature and promote the interest of multinationals. INDIAN EXPRESS

Kazakhstan to harvest its first virus-free potatoes in September

Kazakhstan to harvest its first virus-free potatoes in September

Kazakhstan biotechnologists have cultivated a virus-resistant variety of potato namedAladdin using clonal propagation technology, Tengrinews.kz reports citing the project’s research advisor Darkhan Balpanov. 

According to the expert, the method helps protect potatoes from virus, bacterial, fungus and nematode diseases caused by penetration of small malicious organisms. The scientists cultivated the potatoes from micro-tubers with zero level of pathogens that took around 50 days to produce. Additional advantage of the technology lays in the variety's ability to grow in different climatic zones and natural conditions. “The product uses only clean varieties received through traditional GMO-free selection methods,” the scientist stressed.

The scientists insist that they will be able to grow $1 million worth of the virus-free seed potatoes in five years since the beginning of the project’s implementation. This project will provide farms with cheap high quality seeds. “The price of elite seed potatoes is 120 tenge ($0.8) per 1kg, while the price of imported seeds is 300 tenge ($2) per 1kg. In our case the self-cost will make 90 tenge ($0.6) per 1kg,” Balpanov said.

The first harvest of the Kazakhstan virus-resistant potatoes will be gathered in September 2013. It has been planted on the area of around 6 hectares. The scientists plan to harvest around 100 tons of the Aladdin potatoes. In 2014 they plan to collect up to 500 tons of the virus-free potatoes. In the other words, they expect the second harvest to be of commercial scale. 

Balpanov said that the Kazakhstan scientist were in talks with their colleagues from South Korea who were planning to grow batata in Kazakhstan. This culture is normally grows in tropical areas. However, according to Balpanov, it can also be grown in countries with continental climate like Kazakhstan.

Earlier Kazakhstan genetics bred carrots containing anti-tuberculosis vaccine. The scientists managed to inject TBC germ into the root crop and create a sort of an edible vaccine. TENGRINEWS

For more information see:http://en.tengrinews.kz/science/Kazakhstan-to-harvest-its-first-virus-free-potatoes-in-September-18636/
Use of the Tengrinews English materials must be accompanied by a hyperlink to en.Tengrinews.kz 

NO GM FIELD TRIALS: TEC FINAL REPORT (INDIA)

No GM field trials till regulation gaps are addressed, says TEC final report

The final report of the Technical Expert Committee (TEC) set up by the Supreme Court in a Public Interest Litigation on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) has said that it will not be “advisable” to conduct more field trials till gaps in the regulatory system are addressed.

The report was much awaited as a representative of the Union Agriculture Ministry (R.S. Paroda) was added on the panel after the submission of its interim report in October last on the Court’s directions at the behest of the Ministry. The farm Ministry had objected to the absence of its representative on the panel.

However, Dr. Paroda has not signed the report and there is no clarity on whether he gave a “dissenting note” or his comments were annexed to the report. He attended the meetings but did not attend the signing of the report on June 30 in Chennai, The Hindu was told by a member of the panel. Dr. Paroda was not available for comment.

In its final report, the TEC has suggested that the members of the regulatory authority be free of conflict of interest, such a body be set up under the Ministry of Environment or Health. There should be a secretariat of dedicated scientists with area expertise.

Stakeholder participation, need, socioeconomic considerations, societal impact, and sustainability should be some of the dimensions to be incorporated in the risk assessment and this should be done at an early stage in the risk assessment process.

There is a need to include chronic and trans-generational toxicity testing.

The single largest number of applications for field trials to the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee is for Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis — a commonly occurring bacterium found in insect-rich habitats and soils) transgenic (including food crops such as rice and a range of vegetables).

The TEC pointed out that the safety of Bt transgenics with regard to chronic toxicity had not been established and this needs to be done before it can be considered safe. In this regard, the largest deployment of transgenics worldwide is in soybean, corn, cotton, and canola, all of which are used primarily for oil or feed. Nowhere are Bt transgenics bring widely consumed in large amounts for any major food crop that is directly used for human consumption. The TEC found no compelling reason for India to be the first to do so. THE HINDU

INDIA: GMO TEC

This Bill needs deep roots in transparency

The potentially lethal effects of GM crops require that there should be no secrecy around the regulatory processes that will govern them

Newspaper reports have confirmed the recent decision of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests to “put on hold” the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee’s (GEAC) permitting of field trials of genetically modified crops such as rice, wheat, maize, castor and cotton. The decision to put on hold all approvals — including those granted by the committee — has been taken in view of ongoing public interest litigation before the Supreme Court on the bio-safety of field trials of GM crops.

The functioning of the regulatory regime for genetically modified organisms (GMO) in India throws up many difficult questions, not least among them, how to ensure effective transparency.

Though transparency in the functioning of any regulatory agency is critical, there are additional complications when it comes to GMOs. A regulator who is supervising the distribution of spectrum, or the functioning of the telephone industry, or one who is regulating the quality of a consumer product, can always recant, call back the product, reallocate spectrum, and set right any errors that might have been committed. However, with GMOs, there can be no recall once they have been “let loose” in the ecosystem. Mistakes relating to GMOs could have lethal and irreversible consequences on our health and the environment.

It is, therefore, important that the regulatory processes related to GMOs are scientifically rigorous, free of political or financial bias, without conflict of interest, and subject to vigorous public scrutiny.

Moratorium

Unfortunately, the current system for regulating the introduction of GMOs in India has been adjudged to be very unsatisfactory. A Technical Expert Committee (TEC) set up by the Supreme Court, submitted its interim report dated October 7, 2012. It recommended the suspension of all GMO field trials until, inter alia, a panel of scientists, qualified in evaluation of the biosafety data of GM crops, has been engaged for the scrutiny and analysis of the same, and the conflict of interest in the regulatory body has been removed. “Based on the current overall status of food safety evaluation of Bt transgenics, including the data on Bt cotton and Bt brinjal examined by the TEC and in accordance with the precautionary principle,” the TEC has recommended “a ten year moratorium on field trials of Bt transgenics in all food crops (those used directly for human consumption).”

Toxicity

These findings were reportedly disputed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and by some others — what else could have been expected? At their insistence, the TEC has been given an additional member and asked to submit its final report to the Supreme Court. Whatever be the end result, the TEC’s devastating findings in the interim report cannot be wished away. Therefore, given the poor scientific rigour, the prevailing conflicts of interest, and inappropriate processes, it is all the more essential that everything must be open and subject to full public scrutiny.

Based on an appeal by Greenpeace to the Central Information Commission (CIC), asking for information from the Department of Biotechnology and the GEAC, on the toxicity and allergenicity of products being allowed to proceed to field trials, the CIC, while allowing the appeal, has held that “it goes without saying that toxicity and allergenicity of any product to be put on large scale field trial is a matter of overriding public interest.”

Thereby, the CIC had effectively rejected the plea of Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco), the third party supplying such information, that the same should not be given out as it involves commercial confidence and trade secrets protected under Section 8(1)(d) of the RTI Act. The CIC rightly pointed out that under the RTI Act, this protection was inoperative when “larger public interest” warrants disclosure.

These developments suggested that even while the official regulatory processes left much to be desired, at least the public was in a position to monitor the situation on its own and challenge any unscientific, biased, or reckless decisions of regulators. Therefore, imagine the rage and horror of the common Indian when she discovered that Section 28(1) of the recently introduced Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill, 2013 proposes to remove information relating to GMOs from under the purview of the RTI Act.

As a State subject

Though there are many other reasons for which this Bill must be condemned, surely this effort to shroud all GMO-related information in secrecy must be the most condemnable and dangerous. Considering the Supreme Court has more than once held that the right to information is a fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution, and considering all legitimate exemptions and exclusions have been listed by Parliament in Section 8(1) of the RTI Act, such efforts to circumvent the law must at the very least be considered unconstitutional and should be opposed at all levels.

It would be surprising if any of the political parties (apart from the ruling party at the Centre) would like to support this Bill. Apart from its attempt to weasel out from under the RTI Act, as far as GMOs are concerned, Section 35 of the BRAI Bill appears to reduce State governments to a mere advisory role, despite agriculture being a State subject. In fact, given the critical hazards associated with GMOs, both to human health and the environment, and the poor state of the regulatory mechanism, each State ought to have been vested with veto power as to the introduction of GMOs. For, once a GMO is introduced, wittingly or unwittingly, it is impossible to ensure that it does not spread far and wide; it certainly is no respecter of State boundaries.

All in all, this is a disaster of a Bill that must be resolutely opposed. THE HINDU

"Mexico Agribusiness Report Q3 2013"

"Mexico Agribusiness Report Q3 2013"


We are forecasting production and consumption growth across the entire agricultural complex out to 2017, although growth rates will vary widely. In general, we are very positive regarding the longterm growth story in Mexico, which we believe will be driven in part by a strong consumer story. Indeed, only consumption of whole milk powder (considered an inferior good in the country) is forecast to grow by less than 1% over our forecast period. Despite this, we have relatively subdued production forecasts as the sector suffers broadly from high feed prices, comparatively poor transport, and few export opportunities given the country's proximity to the US, the world's largest grain and livestock exporter. Indeed, over the forecast period, we see the country remaining a net importer of virtually all agricultural commodities except for coffee and sugar. Other constraints, such as reduced land availability (corn) and extensive government influence (sugar) will also contribute to constrain production.

Key Forecasts

- Corn production growth to 2016/17: 32.6% to 24.0mn tonnes. We have revised down our production growth estimates for corn, as we believe the area dedicated to corn is unlikely to grow significantly in the coming years and usage of genetically modified seeds remains limited. The strong five-year growth figure is owing to base effects.
- Sugar production growth to 2012/13: 14.7% to 6.0mn tonnes. This will be driven by good rainfall in southeast regions of the country, as the area dedicated to sugar for the 2012/13 season is expected to decline slightly owing to falling prices. Our projection for improved output comes despite work protests over low prices.
- Coffee consumption growth to 2017: 13.2% to 2.2mn bags. Growth in consumption will be helped by campaigns from Mexico's coffee producers to encourage domestic consumption, since low domestic consumption makes the industry highly vulnerable to fluctuations in world demand.
- 2013 real GDP growth: 3.2% (down from 3.6% in 2012; predicted to average 3.0% to 2017).
- Consumer price inflation (average): 3.4% year-on-year (y-o-y) in 2013 (down from 3.6% y-o-y in 2012).

Industry Trends And Developments

We are optimistic regarding the fate of the 2013/14 Mexico corn crop due to the large area planted and the expectation of better yields. The risk to production this season is reports of dry weather in key growing regions. However, we have revised down our long-term production forecasts for Mexican corn as we believe structural concerns and limits on the area dedicated to corn will constrain production. Mexico is already one of the world's largest corn importers, and without greater usage of genetically modified seeds, the country's net production deficit is likely to grow in the coming years. SBWIRE

N-Fix technology

World changing technology enables crops to take nitrogen from the air

A major new technology has been developed by The University of Nottingham, which enables all of the world's crops to take nitrogen from the air rather than expensive and environmentally damaging fertilisers.

Nitrogen fixation, the process by which nitrogen is converted to ammonia, is vital for plants to survive and grow. However, only a very small number of plants, most notably legumes (such as peas, beans and lentils) have the ability to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere with the help of nitrogen fixing bacteria. The vast majority of plants have to obtain nitrogen from the soil, and for most crops currently being grown across the world, this also means a reliance on synthetic nitrogen fertiliser.

Professor Edward Cocking, Director of The University of Nottingham's Centre for Crop Nitrogen Fixation, has developed a unique method of putting nitrogen-fixing bacteria into the cells of plant roots. His major breakthrough came when he found a specific strain of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in sugar-cane which he discovered could intracellularly colonise all major crop plants. This ground-breaking development potentially provides every cell in the plant with the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen. The implications for agriculture are enormous as this new technology can provide much of the plant's nitrogen needs.

A leading world expert in nitrogen and plant science, Professor Cocking has long recognised that there is a critical need to reduce nitrogen pollution caused by nitrogen based fertilisers. Nitrate pollution is a major problem as is also the pollution of the atmosphere by ammonia and oxides of nitrogen.

In addition, nitrate pollution is a health hazard and also causes oxygen-depleted 'dead zones' in our waterways and oceans. A recent study estimates that that the annual cost of damage caused by nitrogen pollution across Europe is £60 billion—£280 billion a year.

Speaking about the technology, which is known as 'N-Fix', Professor Cocking said: "Helping plants to naturally obtain the nitrogen they need is a key aspect of World Food Security. The world needs to unhook itself from its ever increasing reliance on synthetic nitrogen fertilisers produced from fossil fuels with its high economic costs, its pollution of the environment and its high energy costs."

N-Fix is neither genetic modification nor bio-engineering. It is a naturally occurring nitrogen fixing bacteria which takes up and uses nitrogen from the air. Applied to the cells of plants (intra-cellular) via the seed, it provides every cell in the plant with the ability to fix nitrogen. Plant seeds are coated with these bacteria in order to create a symbiotic, mutually beneficial relationship and naturally produce nitrogen.

N-Fix is a natural nitrogen seed coating that provides a sustainable solution to fertiliser overuse and Nitrogen pollution. It is environmentally friendly and can be applied to all crops. Over the last 10 years, The University of Nottingham has conducted a series of extensive research programmes which have established proof of principal of the technology in the laboratory, growth rooms and glasshouses.

The University of Nottingham's Plant and Crop Sciences Division is internationally acclaimed as a centre for fundamental and applied research, underpinning its understanding of agriculture, food production and quality, and the natural environment. It also has one of the largest communities of plant scientists in the UK.

Dr Susan Huxtable, Director of Intellectual Property Commercialisation at The University of Nottingham, believes that the N-Fix technology has significant implications for agriculture, she said: "There is a substantial global market for the N-Fix technology, as it can be applied globally to all crops. N-Fix has the power to transform agriculture, while at the same time offering a significant cost benefit to the grower through the savings that they will make in the reduced costs of fertilisers. It is a great example of how University research can have a world-changing impact."

The N-Fix technology has been licensed by The University of Nottingham to Azotic Technologies Ltd to develop and commercialise N-Fix globally on its behalf for all crop species.

Peter Blezard, CEO of Azotic Technologies added: "Agriculture has to change and N-Fix can make a real and positive contribution to that change. It has enormous potential to help feed more people in many of the poorer parts of the world, while at the same time, dramatically reducing the amount of synthetic nitrogen produced in the world."

The proof of concept has already been demonstrated. The uptake and fixation of nitrogen in a range of crop species has been proven to work in the laboratory and Azotic is now working on field trials in order to produce robust efficacy data. This will be followed by seeking regulatory approval for N-Fix initially in the UK, Europe, USA, Canada and Brazil, with more countries to follow.

It is anticipated that the N-Fix technology will be commercially available within the next two to three years. PHYS.ORG

Some farmers finding rootworms no longer resistant to genetically modified corn

Some farmers finding rootworms no longer resistant to genetically modified corn

Some Iowa corn growers who planted a genetically-modified variety called B-T corn are finding their plants no longer resist corn rootworms — and some crops are being badly damaged. Darwin Bettin, who farms in northwest Iowa’s Sac County, says he’s used B-T corn for a decade and it’s always kept away the pests, until now.

“I could see corn laying down in my field and none of my neighbors fields,” Bettin says. “I was old enough, I told my wife, if I didn’t know better, that looks like rootworm damage.” Since the corn was bred by Monsanto to resist rootworms, farmers didn’t have to use pesticides.

Now, some are resorting back to chemicals as the insect has developed a resistence to the B-T corn. While the trend is a setback for farmers, it’s a boon for farm chemical makers like Philadelphia-based FMC, where spokesman Aaron Locker says profits are up.

Locker says, “FMC reported a 9% increase in first quarter sales in its agriculture solutions business and 20% increase in fourth 4th quarter sales.” That’s due in part to the resistance in corn rootworms. Bettin lost half his crop to rootworm damage and says his local seed dealer refunded some of his money, but not Monsanto.

Bettin says, “As much money as those companies have made off of us selling us those traits over the years, I think they’d be willing to step up to the plate when their trait doesn’t work.” A spokesman for B-T maker Monsanto says the company is investing millions of dollars in research to bring new products to market.

The federal EPA says it could restrict the future use of B-T seed, but Monsanto is working to introduce new varieties while encouraging farmers to rotate crops. RADIO IOWA