In India, the farmers can plant only BT (Bacillus thuringenisis) cotton that can naturally protect itself against natural pests. The BT cotton is also resistant to the pink bollworm. In 2018, the sale of approximately 30 lakh packets of the illegal cotton hybrid was recorded. After that, the government asked to used the allowed/approved BT cotton instead of unauthorized genetically modified (GM) cotton. Still, after the warnings from the government, the sales have been between 60-65 lakh packets for the unauthorized seeds.
Over the years, farmers have veered towards growing this unauthorized hybrid, although it is illegal to do so in India. Farmers in Gujarat, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh surreptitiously produce the seeds, which are then smuggled to farmers in Maharashtra and other states. Given the illegal nature of the seeds, both production and sales are carried out in a cloak and dagger manner. State agriculture commissioners often conduct raids on such businesses, confiscate the seeds and systematically destroy them.
Bhagirath Choudhary, founder-director of South Asia Biotechnology Centre (SABC), talked about the ease of operations and paucity of labor as the main reasons for farmers going for this hybrid.
