The State government’s decision to increase crop area of cotton by 10.55 lakh acres for farmers to be able to access its investment support money through Rytu Bandhu in the ensuing agricultural season was likely to be implemented with a strict vigil on seed companies and dealers.
Apart from keeping a close watch on spurious seed, the government was said to be focussed on checking the sale of banned Bollgard 3 cotton seed which found its way to fields in the State a few years ago as an unbranded variety and promise of higher yield. A strict enforcement of provisions of Environment Protection Act, 1986, which laid down rigorous imprisonment up to seven years for seed dealers was on cards, sources said.
Against a cotton area of 54.45 lakh acres last year, the government has decided now to increase the acreage to 65 lakh acres. This was likely to spur seed companies and dealers to sell Bollgard 3 by dubious means as it appeared no different from its earlier version -- BG 2 -- which was permitted.
The BG 3 was an innovation in Bt cotton as it took care of weed problem at much lower cost compared to physical labour required for weeding. But, it required spraying of glyphosate, a highly hazardous herbicide to human health and biodiversity, to manage plant growth and ripen fruit. Steps will be taken to curb indiscriminate use of glyphosate, sources added. The sale of BG 3 has grown over the years not only because of its merits but the vulnerability of BG 2 to pink bollworm pest attack. Taking this as an opportunity, the seed companies and dealers resorted to sale of BG 3 by online platforms and secret means.
The cotton area had steadily increased from 42.32 lakh acres in the first year of State formation (2014-15) to 54.45 lakh acres last year. At the same time, the minimum support price of the crop also went up during the period from ₹ 4,050 a quintal to ₹ 5,450 in 2018-19 and by another ₹ 100 last year. Also, the yields increased significantly due to good rains. This raised hopes in farmers and, now, with government linking up Rytu Bandhu to 65 lakh acres of cropped area the demand for seed will go up substantially. It was estimated that 1.30 crore seed packets were required with a cushion of another 10 lakh packets.
