Maharashtra: Farmers turn to illegal herbicide-tolerant cotton seeds again
2025-05-17 10:43:38
Maharashtra Farmers Reuse Illegal HT Cotton Seeds
Nagpur : As the sowing season nears, illegal herbicide-tolerant (HT) cotton seeds are once again available in the market. HT seeds, which are genetically designed to be resistant to glyphosate-based herbicides, have not been permitted for commercial use by the Centre. This is because Mahyco-Monsanto, the company that introduced the technology, abandoned trials more than a decade ago. Since trials were not complete, permission was not granted by the environment ministry.
However, illegal multiplication of seeds continued and supplies began to pour into Vidarbha and other cotton-producing regions of the country. Farmers who spoke on the condition of anonymity said they are keen to buy seeds that are easily available in the market. This is because it significantly reduces the cost incurred due to manual weeding. They can simply get rid of the weeds by spraying glyphosate-based herbicides.
Farmers said that earlier many farmers had bought fake seeds in the name of HT cotton. However, grey market operators have also started improving its quality. The seeds are smuggled mainly from Gujarat and Telangana. A farmers' organization called Shetkari Sangathan has been raising the demand to legalize the cultivation of HT cotton. The activists of the organization have protested from time to time by openly sowing HT seeds and have challenged the government to take action against them.
