LAHORE, Dec 29: The government has decided to introduce its home-grown Bacillus Theoreogenesis (BT) cotton to pre-empt the spread of spurious seeds in the country.

According to sources in the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) fake seeds had played havoc in certain parts of the country and compelled the government introduce its own seed. The National Institute of Bio-Tech and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE) has developed the seed, called IRFHN01.

Initially, seed for sowing on 5,000 acres would be released to farmers. The government itself would be providing the seed and no multinational company would be allowed to deal in the BT seed, they said and added: "The new seed already tested under local conditions and found pest resistant. The NIBGE had been experimenting with the seed for quite long now. It gained a certain level of confidence in the seed two years ago and is now ready to release it for farming."

The government, they said, has decided to allow BT cotton because of ground realities in the country, especially in Sindh. Different companies and individuals have been selling fake or smuggled seeds to farmers for the last many years. Resultantly, the farmers have suffered heavily.

The official researchers and planners also partly blamed these spurious BT seeds for low cotton production in the country. After failing to check the spread of such seeds, the government has decided to release the seed, they added.

Welcoming the decision, farmers said that it was a case of "better late than never." Since, the production of BT seed is stated to be almost 30 per cent more than current varieties, most of the farmers fall readily for the seed. They only realised the folly after suffering the yield loss.

"The government should multiply its own seed and also allow companies who can bring certified seed on reasonable prices," says Nawaz Ali Mehr of Rahim Yar Khan.