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Il successo planetario delle variati Bt e’ oramai talmente vasto da richiedere che i suoi enormi benefici non vadano dilapidati per incurie o superficialita’. Con oltre il 70% del cotone cinese OGM ed oltre il 90% di quello indiano, non si puo’ far conto solo sulle zone rifugio per evitare che si sviluppino parassiti resistenti al Bt. La strategia del maschio sterile gia’ lungamente usata per fare piante che non diffondevano polline funziona bene anche per eradicare popolazioni indesiderate di parassiti in congiunzione proprio con campi di OGM del tipo Bt.

Un utile commento e schema appare ora su Nature (leggi Nessun rifugio per gli insetti)

Con forti diminuzioni dell’uso di pesticidi.

India: 90% of Cotton Area Under Bt

- Dilip Kumar, Business Standard (India), August 31, 2010 http://www.business-standard.com/commodities/storypage.php?autono=406361

Bt cotton has surpassed 90 per cent of cotton acreage this kharif season with farmers continuing to gain from the high-yielding seed since its commercialisation in 2002.

Over the last eight years, farmers have got better output through Bt cotton seeds compared to the conventional seeds. “Although, the final figure is yet to be assessed, we can safely say that the Bt area has crossed 90 per cent of the total cotton acreage this year,” said A B Joshi, textile commissioner. India is one of the fastest adopters of Bt cotton, especially after the introduction of Bollgard II, an insect-resistant genetically modified (GM) seed that reduces pesticide use by up to 80 per cent, two years ago.

However, 100 per cent use of Bt may not be possible as a section of farmers continue with conventional seeds, says Joshi. India’s cotton sowing area has increased substantially over the last three years to 110 lakh ha this kharif season, from 103 lakh ha and 98 lakh ha in 2009 and 2008, respectively.

Ashok Damji Daga, a Coimbatore-based cotton trader, attributed this growth to a significant rise in the minimum support price (MSP) and higher yield in the area under Bt seed. Till August 26, about 106 lakh ha was covered under cotton, thanks to a favourable climate. Total cotton output this year is estimated at 325 lakh bales (1 bale = 170 kgs) as against 295 lakh bales in the previous year, according to data by the Ministry of Textiles.

With mill consumption estimated at 221.5 lakh bales and export cap at 49.5 lakh bales, total mill cotton demand in the country is expected to fall to 315.5 lakh bales this cotton year (October ‘10 - September ‘11) as against the availability of 370.5 lakh bales. Last season, the total demand was estimated at 333 lakh bales against supply of 373.5 lakh bales.

According to sources at the ministry of textile, the evolution of Bt in the cotton sector has created additional value in the country worth Rs 40,000 crore until 2008. (Additional value from cotton sector includes income from exports, saving foreign currency through lower imports, technology tax to the government and cheap raw material available for local users, including ginners and textile manufacturers).

India earned Rs 2,800 crore through exports in 2008, while potential savings through lower imports was at Rs 7,545 crore. The user industry earned Rs 500 crore through availability of locally originating lint which has now become an import substitute.

Availability of cottonseed oil has eased pressure on vegetable oil, while cottonseed meal exports have fetched an additional Rs 3,500 crore. Processors like ginners earned Rs 720 crore. Farmers became rich with an additional income of Rs 20,000 crore due to higher yield with Bt technology.

Farm labourers recorded a growth of Rs 1,300 crore and technology providers earned a gross fee of Rs 280 crore. Hybrid seed companies shared less than one per cent of the total additional income with a sale of 238 packets worth Rs 110 crore.

Jagresh Rana, director, Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (India) said, “Year-on-year, farmers have continued to adopt Bt cotton, which has resulted in higher yields and significant higher incomes.”

“Adoption of cotton technology in over 90 per cent of the cotton acreages this year, clearly demonstrates the benefits farmers are experiencing from Bt Cotton. Their increasing vote in favour of Bt cotton technology is an example of how innovation and technology have helped them increase farming efficiencies, get better yields and better income. It is testimony to the fact that there is a growing need to create an environment where farmers have access to more such beneficial technologies.”
(I crore = 10 million; 1 lakh = 100,000; Rs. 1 crore = Approx. US$213,000; 1 US$ = Rs. 46)

A dosi letali il parassita sopravvive in prove di laboratorio. I maligni già sospettano che il parassita arrivi al momento giusto per spingere i coltivatori ad acquistare per l’imminente campagna di semina la nuova varieta’ di cotone Bt piu’ resistente e piu’ costosa. Nel 2010 forse il 90% di tutto il cotone indiano derivera’ da cotone OGM del tipo Bt.

India: Hardy Cotton-Munching Pests Are Latest Blow to GM CropsPallava Bagla

Monsanto has revealed that a common insect pest has developed resistance to its flagship genetically modified (GM) product in India. The agricultural biotechnology leader says it “detected unusual survival” of pink bollworms that fed on cotton containing the Cry1Ac gene from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, which codes for a protein that’s toxic to many insect pests. In a statement to Science, Monsanto claims that the finding from western India “is the first case of field-relevant resistance to Cry1Ac products, anywhere in the world.”

Leggi l’articolo su Science

Con oltre 600 differenti ibridi commercializzati in India e 35 aziende che vendono semi, l’India e’ diventata il secondo produttore al mondo di cotone con evidenti vantaggi commerciali derivanti dall’export. Ora i coltivatori indiani hanno anche a disposizioni semi che riprodotti non perdono vigore. Leggi( bt-cotton-india09).

Bt Cotton in India: A Status Report

http://www.apaari.org/publications/apaari-success-stories/bt-cotton-in-india-a-status-report-2nd-edition.html
The Asia-Pacific Consortium of Agricultural Biotechnology (APCoAB), a program of the Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI), has been working to facilitate exchange of information and promote informed opinion across the region on issues of common interest related to agricultural biotechnology. In 2006, APCoAB published first status report on Bt Cotton in India when 40 Bt hybrids were being cultivated on an area of 1.26 million hectares. Besides tracing the development of Bt hybrids and their adoption by Indian farmers, the report highlighted issues that needed to be addressed to effectively harness the benefits that Bt technology promised.

During the past three years, Indian cotton scenario has changed dramatically, largely due to the adoption of Bt cotton. The number of Bt hybrids released for commercial cultivation till date has crossed 600 with more than 35 seed companies and public sector institutions currently engaged in their development. In addition, the first true breeding variety has also been released by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), a public sector institution. This provides an opportunity to the farmers to save their own seed without losing the efficacy of Bt gene. The area under Bt cotton reached 7.6 million hectares in 2008-09 constituting nearly 81% of the total cotton area in India. As a result, the production also reached 4.9 million tonnes. All these are indicators of the extraordinary impact and acceptance of Bt technology in cotton by the Indian farmers. This is quite comparable to the success of dwarf varieties of wheat and rice during the Green Revolution period. Several studies have established considerable economic benefits of Bt cotton cultivation to the farmers of all strata. Another significant development relates to creation of enabling environment by the Government of India. The Ministry of Environment and Department of Biotechnology simplified the regulatory procedures leading to expeditious commercial release, especially of events with well established biosafety record.

In view of all these new developments, it was felt appropriate to bring out an updated edition of our earlier status report on Bt cotton highlighting contemporary issues related to both technology development and its commercialization.

It is our expectation that this revised edition of Bt Cotton in India - A Status Report will be widely circulated and read in the Asia-Pacific region by all stakeholders. The experiences narrated in this report should also help other growing nations in evolving suitable systems of research, testing and commercialization of transgenic crops aiming at sustainability, productivity, food security and poverty alleviation, while safeguarding the environment.

Download at http://www.apaari.org/publications/apaari-success-stories/bt-cotton-in-india-a-status-report-2nd-edition.html

Il cotone Bt indiano ha raggiunto l’84% di tutte le superfici coltivate a cotone ed e’ usato da 5 milioni di contadini indiani in media su campi di 1,5 ettari a testa.
Quante falsita’ abbiamo sentito in questo Paese sulla vicenda dei suicidi dei contadini. Dall’agenzia di stampa Reuters (qui)