Date:22/08/2007 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/08/22/stories/2007082250601200.htm

Back Bt seed market to top Rs 1,000 cr

Harish Damodaran

New Delhi, Aug. 21 In 2006, an estimated 38 lakh hectares (lh) were covered under Bt cotton — out of the country’s total cotton area of 91.30 lh, including some 63 lh under hybrids and the rest under various desi and Ame rican varieties.

According to the Union Agriculture Ministry, cotton acreage this year has touched 87.45 lh as on August 17, of which Bt hybrids account for 53.32 lh. “It looks we will see Bt coverage crossing 55 lh in 2007. And, I expect the share of hybrids in total area at 75 per cent, against last year’s 70 per cent,” says Mr Bhagirath Choudhary of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA).

At 2.47 acres to a hectare, 55 lh translates into almost 136 lakh acres. Since farmers plant one packet (containing 450 grams of seed) for every acre and assuming an average rate of Rs 750, the size of the domestic Bt seed market would be roughly Rs 1,020 crore. Not bad for a technology that was commercialised first here in 2002, when it covered a mere 50,000 hectares.