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cover story
As there was no uniformity in pricing of Bt cotton
seeds across the country, the central government
has recently intervened and issued
a Cotton Seed Price (Control) Order,
2015, to fix a uniform price of Bt
cotton seed across the states in the
country for the benefit of farmers.
Mr Radha Mohan Singh, Union Minister,
Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare
“We strongly oppose the decision made by the
committee as it violates the principle of free
market economics. By slashing trait fees the
government has clearly shown that it is going
for short term populist measures rather than
supporting innovation in the long term. Such a
decision is a discouragement of research and is
contrary to the respect for IPR in Agriculture
and ‘Make in India’ initiative encouraged by
our Honorable Prime Minister. The decision
will be detrimental in the long run as
companies may have to reconsider their
investments in seed based R& D in the country
due to current uncertain environment. We
certainly hope that the government will
reconsider the decision,” opined Dr Shivendra
Bajaj – Executive Director, ABLE-AG.
Clearly not agreeing with that, the National
Seeds Association of India (NSAI) is of the
view that the government’s decision will
benefit farmers and is in the right spirit. It
feels that MMB has already earned a good sum
through charging royalty at a higher rate.
According to the NSAI’s calculations, MMBL
collected Rs 4,479 crore in royalty between
2005-06 and 2014-15.
“Since 2010, the state governments have been
specifying trait values (royalty) in their price
orders as Rs 50/- for BG I and Rs 90/- for BG
II. Since the year 2011, government of
Maharashtra has considered the trait value as
Rs 20/- for both BG I and BG II. In the year
2015, Telengana state government considered
the trait value as Rs 10/- for BG I and Rs. 50/for BG II. Going by the provisions of the
legislations, the stakeholders that are the seed
companies and the technology provider have
no option except to follow the orders, as they
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BioVoiceNews | May 2016
were not set aside by the hon’ble courts,
though there were stay orders in some states.
On account of the pending litigations, in
anticipation of favorable ruling the licensee
seed companies deposited to MMB trait value
(royalty) at higher rates than what was
indicated in the state government price orders
from 2010,” Dr Kalyan Goswami, executive
director, NSAI had stated earlier.
The drastic reduction in trait fees can lead to
severe financial losses for Monsanto, say
sources. It has now petitioned the Delhi High
Court to quash certain provisions in the price
control order, specifically those allowing the
centre to determine royalty fees.
Recently the matter has been heard by the
various courts including Karnataka High
Court, Telengana High Court and Delhi High
Court. The appeals and counter-appeals are
being filed by opposing parties. However,
with the unrelenting rival stakeholders
(friends turned foes) and the government
clearly in no mood to review its order, there
seems to be no clear pathway towards the
amicable solution.
On a serious note, the ongoing sparing will
further create mistust and deepen the wedge
between stakeholders which once stood on the
same side of the fence. That of course is not so
good news for Indian agri-biotech in general
and wider agriculture sector in particular.
Given the larger stakes involving seed industry
and farming community, the harmonious
collaborative efforts between technology
developer and seed companies is very
important. Let us hope there will be some
positivity in the days to come.
TIMELINE OF BT
COTTON TECHNOLOGY
IN INDIA
2002
Bollgard cotton became the
first biotech crop technology
approved for commercialization
in India in More than 6 million
farmers adopted the
technology on their farms.
2003
Monsanto introduced a
second-generation trait product
in cotton with Bollgard® II
insect-protected cotton.
Besides benefits as the original
Bollgard product, it also
provided expanded protection
against other cotton pests.
2006
Monsanto becomes the first
agriculture company to
introduce a stacked secondgeneration product, launching
Bollgard II with Roundup Ready
Flex cotton. The product
provides farmers with the
same benefits as Bollgard II, as
well as the flexits.
2006
MMB, a 50:50 joint venture
between Mahyco and
Monsanto sub-licensed the
Bollgard II and Bollgard
technologies to more than
30 Indian seed companies.
Each Indian seed company
has introduced the Bollgard
technology into their own
germplasm, giving a choice
of over 300 Bt cotton hybrid
seeds to the 6 million Indian
farmers.