The Bt cotton, first transgenic non-food crop, is designed to protect crops from pests and cut the spray costs. It contains a strand of genetic material from the naturally occurring soil micro-organism Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)
, and is being successfully grown since 1996 in the US, Australia, China, India and elsewhere.
Before the Bt technology, farmers could only combat pests like the bollworm known as "sundi" with pesticides. The Bt provides 100 per cent control of sundies, while supplemental foliar insecticide sprays are occasionally required to keep away the sucking pests like jassid, white fly, etc.
It is worth knowing that no Bt cotton seed developer has ever claimed that it would also control sucking pests. Therefore, it is wrong to say that the Bt cotton's cultivation of non-approved varieties in Sindh is not providing protection against jassid and leaf curl virus (CLCV) disease which cause huge damages in cotton fields.
Currently, a systematic propaganda is being carried out to create ambiguity through misleading information about the Bt seed technology. In past few years, the average number of bollworm treatments applied to the Bt fields in Australia, India, China, the US ranged from 0.27 to 1.22 treatments per field, lower than 5 to 16 sprays applied to control bollworm/tobacco budworm on the non-Bt fields.
Despite strong resistance, none cannot deny the reality about its success and growth around the world. The safety of plant biotechnology is evident from the fact that there isn't any documented case of illness caused by foods developed with the biotechnology since mid-1990s.
An EC report concludes that the use of more precise technology and greater regulatory scrutiny (over biotech foods) probably make them safer than conventional plants and foods".
Today more than 3.6 billion people around the world are directly or indirectly consuming the genetically modified (GM) food. It is worth knowing that there is no GMO or the Bt in refined edible oil from any Bt crops and these crops are as safe as the non Bt. That was why the EU in May 2004 lifted the five-year ban on the GM food.
In March 2004, the UK also approved commercial plantation of the GM crops. Tests showed that these crops could be more beneficial to wildlife when compared with the conventional.
According to the economic review there were few short-term benefits for the UK in pursuing the technology but there could be long-term benefits for farmers and consumers from crops that were better suited to British climate and which had boosted the nutrients.
The science review has said that the risks to human health from the GM were very low. Similarly, nowadays trials of the genetically modified crops are underway throughout Germany.
The cotton crop in Sindh and South Punjab districts was attacked by the CLCV. One cannot blame it on the Bt technology; varieties susceptible to the CLCV will be infected regardless of other traits (e.g., Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)) incorporated.
Under the Seed Act 1976 and Plant Quarantine Rules 1967 no one is allowed to cultivate the imported Bt, conventional or hybrid cotton seeds or plants without an approval. Those having information about such an activity should report it to concerned agency.
A mafia is exploiting the demand for such technology amongst farmers despite the propaganda. This is a clear indication of the farmers' confidence in the technology, therefore, the government of Pakistan should understand the farmers' aspirations and approve the Biosafety guidelines or else the technology will get a bad name due to its pirated version being illegally presented by the unscrupulous traders.
According to The Times of India (2 July, 04): "Cultivation of the BT cotton is expected to increase 10 times this year with more farmers preferring the varieties. This cotton not only increases the yield but also avoids use of pesticides.
It is popular because it provides results within 45 to 90 days compared to normal seeds which take around 120 days. There are farmers preferring the BT cotton to increase the yield.
Out of 17 lakh hectares, the BT cotton is used in nearly one lakh acre". Similarly, according to The Hindu Business Line (June 2004) "This year higher cotton crop size is largely due to an increase in sowing of the Bt cotton seeds".
It is a fact that performance of the Bt cotton is dependent on agro climatic conditions, genotype of the hybrids and management of crop. In some areas, certain Bt varieties may be inappropriate for local growing conditions and may fail to produce satisfactory yields.
For example under high night temperatures and under hot dry conditions, bolls may drop off the plants; some farmers in India reported that bolls set erratically or in irregular patterns.
That's why approved varieties of the Bt cotton tested in different agro-climatic conditions must be cultivated. One should refrain from sowing the "non approved" variety. It is important to know that so far most attempts of introducing non- approved Bt cotton have failed to deliver the desired results. Main reason behind this is the selection of wrong variety of cotton seeds which may be not fit under local environments.
In short biotech products are being used for human consumption all over the world. Most industrialized countries and many developing countries have native biotechnology crop research and development programmes like the NIBGE in Pakistan.
There are currently no globally-accepted biotech standards or guidelines for the evaluation of safety of such products. Therefore, in the absence of broadly accepted standards, most of the countries have adopted their own regulations.
Development of bio-safety standards and procedures by many countries have helped traders, growers and manufacturers, while preventing foreign firms from entering into markets unlawfully.
Rather than blaming, we must understand the promises this technology holds by acting moderately. It is a fact that the increasing use of the Bt Cotton around the world substantiates that it has more advantages than disadvantages.
