Whether BT cotton seeds are losing their efficiency, fake seeds have invaded the market or farmers are unaware of right mode of raising the crop, the annual cotton targets are being missed by a huge margin.

Farmers complain that all those pests (Spotted and Pink Boll Worms and, especially, Heliothis) whose control became neologism for the BT gene, are back in varying degrees. Of all, Heliothis, the most dangerous one, is appearing for the last three years in some farming pockets and is still within the control limits.

So is the Pink Boll Worm, which appears late but has the capacity to damage the crop quickly.

The Federal Seed Certification has neither legal teeth nor human resources to implement BT cotton gene expression standards

With these pests now joining thrips, white fly, mite and jassid, the entire agronomy and economics of the crop is under threat. The farmers say that an early crop now needs 15 to 18 sprays to see the season through. Even the one sown on the traditional timing has to be saved with eight to 12 sprays. That is precisely why the early crop is now going out of vogue. The sowing pattern over the last few years shows 70pc drop in early sowing figures.

The climatic change is also playing its part. With change in weather, the sucking and chewing pests have seen their population and attacks increasing in frequency and spread. New bugs like dusky and old ones (like mealy) are back and need to be controlled.

With September, which normally plays a crucial role in the final yield, starting on a wet note, all fears of the farmers are rekindled. Early rains have benefited the crop so far. But if the cycle continues, the situation could quickly get out of hand. The Extension Staff of the provincial agriculture department needs to guide farmers safely out during the month of September.

The proponents of the BT gene have their own case to plead, arguing that one cannot shift management failures to technology. They claim that there is hardly any seed in the market that meets international BT expression standards. Even the approved ones do not meet the criteria. The Federal Seed Certification has neither legal teeth nor human resource to implement gene expression standards.

The relevant officials need to push the certified seed sellers into extension services to train the farmers along with the sale package. All pockets, which suffered Pink Boll Worm attacks in the last two years, had corn (a host plant for the Boll Worm) sown next to cotton crop in the central Punjab areas. So, until and unless the government restricts the sales to its approved varieties and dealers, the situation will not improve. Only a government fully committed to regularising the market can make the difference. The present set-ups, both at central and provincial levels, are yet to show that kind of commitment.

Published in Dawn, Economic & Business, September 8th, 2014