Nagpur: Farmers from across Vidarbha, especially Yavatmal, have urged the govt to make available the latest Herbicide-Tolerant BT cotton (HTBt) seeds to improve the crop yield in the coming season. The farmers claimed that over the years, pests have evolved and are now immune to the Bt cotton variety and pose a major threat to the crops.
The farmers were speaking at a gathering organised by the National Farmers Empowerment Initiative on Thursday. Addressing the media, a group of cotton farmers of Vidarbha put forth the demand, saying that the pink bollworm, a major threat to cotton crop, has become resistant to the Cry1Ac toxin produced by the Bt cotton.
"Bt cotton has been a huge help to us for many years now, but we need the latest research and innovations in terms of cotton seeds," Ganesh Nanote, a cotton farmer from Akola, said. Nanote said that other cotton-producing countries, like the USA, Brazil and Australia have already adopted the HTBt cotton, and Indian farmers too deserve the same opportunity.
Farmer leader Milind Damble said that Yavatmal's soil has a high limestone content, which makes agriculture a difficult task. "A majority of farmer suicides are caused because the ryots are not able to produce enough yield," he said.
Damble further highlighted the water scarcity in the district saying that in the winter months, they receive water only two to three days a month. "The situation eases up a little during the monsoon, from June when we get water 15 - 17 days," he said. "Due to the evolved bollworm, we have to spray pesticides on our crops, and it takes 10 men to tend to just one hectare of land," he said. Damble added that if HTBt cotton is introduced, then the requirement of labour per hectare will fall to just two.
Vidya Warhade, a farmer, said that while cotton is their main crop, they also grow vegetables and other crops to supplement farm income. "The current yield of cotton is not enough for us to sustain. We need to implement measures that will help us increase cotton yield," she said.
Another farmer from Yavatmal, Prakash Puppalwar, said that cotton is a global commodity and has high export potential. "For us to stand ahead or at least be at par with the other competitors across the globe, the govt must take some progressive steps," he said.
The farmers have demanded that the policymakers interact with them directly to better understand the grassroots level issues rather than relying on third parties for the same.
