Govt to continue regulating prices of Bt cotton seeds

The government would persist with the policy of regulating the prices of genetically modified (GM) cotton seeds and not allow companies such as US-based biotech major Monsanto to “exploit farmers”, agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh said on Monday.

“It (Monsanto) is a good company. We respect them but that does not mean you exploit farmers and charge whatever price because you have knowledge (of technology). Be it seeds or pharma products, we will continue to regulate prices, whenever required,” Singh said while inaugurating a national conference on kharif campaign.

Last month, the agriculture ministry had notified maximum sale price (MSP) for widely-used Bollgard II (BG II) variety of Bt cotton seeds at R800 per packet. The MSP would be applicable across the country for 2016-17 season. This price includes trait fee of R49 per packet, down 70% from the current level, in what could hit Monsanto.

The BG II seeds have hitherto been sold for R830 per packet in Maharashtra, R930 in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and R1,100 in northern states such as Punjab and Haryana. Earlier, a committee set up by the ministry had recommended the above rates.

According to the December’s notification by the agriculture ministry, the decision to put Bt cotton seeds under price control was taken in view of farmers finding the seeds “to be highly priced” and the need to bring “uniformity” in their prices across the country.

Recently, Monsanto had threatened to re-evaluate its presence in India and hold back new technology if the plan to reduce the trait value is not rolled back.

Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (MMBL), a joint venture between Monsanto and Maharashtra-based Mahyco, had moved the Delhi High Court against the move, arguing that the price control order is “illegal and unconstitutional”. The next hearings of the case is slated later this week.

MMBL has sub-licensed Bt cotton seed technology since 2002 to various domestic seed companies. It is alleged that some of these companies have to pay MMBL some R450 crore after collecting the amount as trait value from the cotton farmers in kharif 2015.

The National Seed Association of India (NSAI) in a statement had earlier said that the farmers’ voice has been heard by the agriculture ministry. “The BG II technology is facing redundancy on ground and NSAI has also represented for lowering the trait fee as the technology is meant to stop pink bollworm which is not working,” the statement said.