The GM cotton conundrum:

Context: A few Haryana farmers have defied a government restriction against sowing
banned HT Bt Cotton in Hisar. However, the government is determined to curb its
spread.

What is HT Bt cotton?

Herbicide-tolerant Bt (HT Bt) Cotton is genetically modified crop of unapproved

genes which is not permissible in India.

Significance:

Technically, herbicide is like a poison which is used to destroy unwanted vegetation.

The technique in the HT Bt Cotton makes the crop resistant to herbicide following
modification in genes of the seeds. Normally, when an herbicide is sprayed, then it
destroys unwanted vegetation along with causing harm the cotton crop also. So,
farmers use less herbicide in their fields. But with the introduction of HT Bt Cotton,
there won’t be any impact of herbicide on the cotton crop while the
unwanted vegetation will be destroyed. This will lead to more use of chemicals in
fields causing harm to other crops.

What’s the extent of HT Bt Cotton in India?

In the absence of government approval, production of HT Bt seed is

illegal, but farmers say it’s available in those states where its being grown defying the
laws.

A section of farmers have started sowing its seeds particularly in Maharashtra,

Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for the past few years.
A government panel had found that the HT Bt Cotton was grown in 15 per cent of
the areas in these states during 2017-18 while this percentage was 5 per
cent for Punjab.

Why is it preferred by the farmers?

According to supporters of HT Bt Cotton, its preferred to reduce the cost of

labour as de-weeding is an extremely labour intensive activity involving 40 per cent of
the total cost for growing cotton.

The farmers have felt the impact of HT Bt Cotton in terms of lower costs and
reduced crop losses leading to higher production and income.

Bt crops in India:

Indian government in 2010 had imposed a moratorium, leaving Bt Cotton as the

only genetically modified crop permitted for cultivation in the country.

What do the opponents of HT Bt Cotton say?

Such seeds will cause more diseases among humans and animals apart from causing
damage to the environment.