10 Years of Btin India: Biotech Seeds Save Indian Market

摘要

Ten years ago, in the sweltering 48 degree Celsius summer heat of May 2001, farmers from several parts of the country were traveling to the cotton institute in the central Indian city of Nagpur to find out if their cotton seeds contained the Bt toxingene. I remember one such group of about 25 to 30 farmers from Gujarat, the far eastern state of India, who had traveled 800 miles without a train reservation. Each of them brought cotton seeds sealed in aluminum pouches with brand labels of Navbharat-151, Rakshak, Viraat, Kawach-151, Krushi-357, Trishul and Suraksha to be tested at the institute for presence of the Bt gene.