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India becomes second largest cotton producing country
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
India has overtaken the US to become the second largest
cotton producing country in the world after China, a study by
International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech
Application (ISAAA) said.
India, which had one of the lowest cotton yields in the world,
has become a net cotton exporter, potentially five million
bales in 2007-08, the study said.
BT cotton was a major factor contributing to higher rate of
production from 15.8 million bales in 2001-02 to 31 million
bales in 2007-08, it said.
Releasing the brief of global status of commercialised
biotech/gm crops: 2007, former professor of Tamil Nadu
Agricultural University C P Thiagarajan said India experienced
the highest proportional increase in 2007 for the third
consecutive year with a 63 percent gain to 6.2 million hectare
of BT cotton.
The income of growers in India has also increased up to Rs
10,000 or more per hectare.
The studies have shown strong farmer confidence in the crops
with nine of 10 Indian farmers replanting biotech cotton year
on year, ISAAA said.
The socio-economic benefits associated with biotech crops have
started emerging, ISAAA said.
A study of 9,300 BT cotton and non- BT cotton growing
households in India indicated that women and children in BT
cotton households have slightly more access to social benefits
than the other group.
These include slight increase in pre-natal visits, assistance
for at-home births, higher school enrolment and a higher
proportion of children vaccinated, it said.
On the global scenario, the study said that the US, Argentina,
Brazil, Canada, India and China continued to be the principal
adopters of biotech crops.
While the US continued to be the largest user of the
technology, its biotech crop area represented a declining
share of the global area due to a broadening adoption,
Thiagarajan said.
According to study, Burkina Faso, Egypt and possibly Vietnam
would be the next most likely countries to approve the crops,
while Australia is engaged in the field-testing of
drought-tolerant wheat.
Countries like India have recognised the importance of using
biotechnology to make the country self-sufficient in foodgrain
including rice, wheat and oilseed production with the first
biotech food crop, biotech eggplant, expecting approval soon,
ISAAA said.
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