[NYTr] India: Mealy Bug Wipes Out Illusion of "Immune" GM Cotton Plant

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

sent by marcus (activ-l)


Environment News Srervice, August 24 2007
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2007/2007-08-24-insdutt.asp

Mealy Bug Takes Away Glory of Bt Cotton 

By Umendra Dutt 

JAITU, Punjab, India, August 24 2007 (ENS) - So, once again it is boom
time for the pesticide manufacturing companies in Punjab. Harping on
the desperation and fear psychosis among the farmers over the attack of
a new pest - the mealy bug - on the cotton crop, the pesticide
companies have already sold pesticides worth over Rs 500 crores
(US$121.4 million) in Punjab, in the last two months. 

Not only making a big hole in the pocket of the already distressed
farmer, the mealy bug also has demolished the so-called hype over Bt
cotton. While governments and the Bt cotton manufacturing and
distribution companies were claiming a panacea for the farmers,
claiming there would be no attack of pests on the genetically
engineered Bt cotton, the mealy bug has broken the hype and illusion. 

As the mealy bug is destroying the cotton crop in the Malwa region of
Punjab, in desperation the farmers are intensively spraying the cotton
with pesticides, which are toxic and costly.

A major portion of the profit which the farmer hoped to reap from his
cotton crop, has already gone into pockets of pesticide companies,
making the farmer once again the ultimate loser. 

First, he purchased expensive Bollgard Bt seeds, believing in their
resistance towards pests, and after the mealy bug made meal of the Bt
cotton, the farmer made a huge investment in pesticides. 

The seed companies had already cornered the lion's share of the cotton
crop by selling the farmers expensive seed and now it is the turn of
pesticide companies to squeeze the farmers. Our farmer is surrounded by
merchants of Venice; there are Shylocks all around him. 

Mobile vans carrying the big banners of pesticide companies are
criss-crossing villages to educate farmers about the mealy bug attack.
But educating farmers is a money minting exercise for the pesticide
companies.

When the farmers were gripped with mealy bug panic, and some of them
started ploughing their fields under, the Directorate of Agriculture,
Punjab published advertisements in vernacular daily papers with
official photos of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Agriculture
Minister Sucha Singh Langah, prescribing a list of pesticides to spray
for mealy bug control. 

Headlined "To Control Mealy Bug Attack on Cotton" and the
advertisements list pesticides - Carbryl, Thiodicarb of Carbamate
group, Quinalphos, Prosenofos, Chloropyrifos and Acephate of Organophas
group. The advertisement even suggests using Holocon nozzles while
spraying. This advertisement is look-alike of any advertisement placed
by pesticide companies. 

It is a tragedy that two years back the Punjab government had published
similar advertisements with the photo of then Chief Minister Capt
Amarinder Singh, describing the introduction of Bt cotton as a great
achievement. 

At that time, government advertisements made tall claims about the
advantages of Bt cotton, stating an increase in yield by 25 to 28
percent per hectare, and a net increase in income by Rs 10,000 to
15,000 (US$ 242 to 364) per hectare, and a saving on agro-chemicals of
up to Rs 1,000 (US$ 24) per hectare. 

But, this season, the third year after the introduction of Bt cotton in
Punjab, things are going the opposite way.

Surprisingly, Punjab is the only state where one could find government
advertisements with the chief minister's photos either for the
promotion of Bt cotton or for propagating use of pesticides.
Apparently, the agribusiness companies could not find more state
patronage than this. 

Punjab seems to be heaven for these companies. The agriculture
establishments here are advocating all sorts of agrochemicals, hybrid
seeds, Bt seeds and a whole lot of poisons even more loudly then the
manufacturers. 

The government has every right to issue advertisements about its
achievements whenever they want to communicate to the people, but how
can a government advertisement propagate Bt cotton or pesticides? We
have to question the very mind set and thought behind these
advertisements. 

The agriculture establishments in Punjab are looking for solutions of
every problem with the eyes of farm input companies and agribusiness
corporations. This indicates the intellectual bankruptcy of the people
at the helm of affairs in the state. What could be more ironic than the
fact that the solutions which they are suggesting are not only more
problematic but also totally unsustainable? These solutions bound to
bring more and more devastation. 

Those who are prescribing these solutions are not legally bound to any
action if their prescription brings any adverse effects after few
years. The so-called agriculture experts will go scot-free but the poor
farmer will certainly lose his money, land, health and maybe his life
too. 

Nobody is talking about the loss to farmers. The farmers who sowed Bt
cotton seeds are now feeling cheated. Their dreams have turned into
nightmares. 

The mealy bug has attacked cotton in almost the whole of Malwa. The
white sticky bug made cotton fields look as though they were covered
with snow. The bugs have even entered house and kitchen gardens. 

The bugs attacked cotton last year but the damage was on a limited
scale. This year it became so widespread that in hundreds of villages
in all pockets of the Cotton Belt, farmer after farmer ploughed their
Bt cotton fields under to get rid of the mealy bug. 

The government departments pressed the panic button. They worked even on
Sundays, discussing which pesticide is better and how to make pesticides
available to farmers. They declared war against the mealy bug but the
ammunition is being provided by a private company, Syngenta. 

The agriculture development officers also have become brand campaigners
for Actara, another pesticide manufacturing company. 

The entire agriculture establishment of Punjab seeks asylum in poisons
only. While promoting pesticides they have also advised farmers to
spray herbicides all along the farm to prevent weeds.

This means a greater poison load on the already devastated ecosystem of
Punjab. The chemicalization and monoculturing of agriculture in Punjab
has made its agriculture experts bonded royal laborers of the chemical
farming paradigm. They cannot think and see beyond that, and they do
not want to think and see. They cannot dare to do so, as it does not
suit the masters of the present agriculture system. 

The "Indian Express" newspaper quoted the head of the Entomology
Department of Punjab Agricultural University Dr. N.S. Bhutter,
justifying the planting of Bt cotton and the increasing use of
pesticides. "Prior to the introduction of Bt cotton, we used to spray
the crops with chemicals which killed these pests. Now as the pest
umbrella has been lifted because Bt cotton does not need so many
sprays, these pests are becoming dominant." 

When asked why Punjab Agricultural University didn't think of this
attack when it was rooting for Bt cotton as a panacea for the problems
of Punjab farmers, his reply reflects that there is some thing
seriously wrong with the vision of the Punjab agriculture
establishment. 

Dr. Bhutter said, "At that time there was no mealy bug, and we were
dealing with just American bollworm. With chemicals, we will be able to
control this bug too." 

The agriculture experts encouraged farmers to spray pesticides, but
large number of farmers and labors who were exposed to the deadly
pesticides have been hospitalized at several towns in the Cotton Belt.
Two deaths were reported due to pesticide exposure. 

The mealy bug is giving a lesson to the agriculture establishment and
proponents of chemicalized agriculture that their pest control design is
faulty. The small insect dares the agriculture scientists to change
their view, but who has the guts to do so? Punjab, devastated by
ecological crisis, debts, suicides and cancers is waiting for this
change. 

There is no holistic approach, no farsightedness, no concern about
destruction done by chemicals, nor any thought for the ecological,
economic and social implications of this highly toxic agriculture. 

When lakhs of farmers elsewhere are successfully growing cotton without
using any sort of chemicals and even without Bt seeds, why cannot this
happen in Punjab? 

But our politicians, bureaucrats, scientists and planners all are
hypnotized by companies. All Punjab's main parties became mad in the
craze for Bt and everyone wants to claim credit for the release of Bt
cotton and its further expansion. 

Despite the mealy bug attack on Bt cotton, Agriculture Minister Langah
announced in his Independence day address at Muktsar on August 15 that
his government is proud of distributing 1,535,500 packets of Bt cotton
seeds at the rate of Rs 760 per packet. 

But question is, who is paying the royalty for these packets? Certainly,
neither Mr. chief minister nor the agriculture minister nor the
director of agriculture nor Punjab Agricultural University is going to
pay. 

The farmers of Punjab have already paid some Rs 100 crores (US$ 1
billion) to Monsanto as royalty over last three years and this process
will continue until farmers dare to see through the Bt seed deception.

But in this darkness of chemical farming, there is a ray of hope.
Natural farming is making inroads in Punjab. 

The mealy bug does not worry natural farmers at all. The farmers who are
practicing natural farming neither use Bt cotton nor do any pesticide
spraying. But still their cotton crops are healthy and free from any
destruction caused by mealy bugs. 

First of all, they witnessed very mild mealy bug attacks, due to their
multiple cropping system. Their cotton fields have as many as eight to
15 crops. 

Second, if mealy bugs attacked their crops they controlled the pests
with neem, dhatura and cow urine. There are large numbers of farmers
who are proud owners of naturally treated farms. These farmers are
erecting the foundation for a paradigm shift in Punjab. 

A constructive change is taking place - minus experts and the
establishment. It is a community initiative and farmer driven movement
called Kheti Virasat Mission. 

The growing number of farmers practicing natural farming is an
indicator that society wants a change in agriculture perspective and
paradigm. These farmers have already walked out of the Bt and pesticide
trap and are now leading the Punjab towards an imperishable prosperity,
free from the exploitation of the farmer as well as Mother Nature. 

[Umendra Dutt is executive director of Kheti Virasat Mission, a
not-for-profit civil society organization established in March 2005,
working in the field of natural farming, sustainable agriculture,
conservation of natural resources, environmental health and
eco-sustainable technologies.]