Maha agriculture minister bats for trial use of HT-tolerant cotton seeds
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Nagpur: The state's agriculture minister Manikrao Kokate has called for allowing use of herbicide-tolerant cotton seeds, at least on a trial basis, for farmers to assess their impact.
The seeds cannot be legally used by farmers as they await approval from the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), which works under the ministry of environment, said Kokate as he addressed Union minister for agriculture Shivraj Singh Chouhan at a function to launch One Nation, One Agriculture, One Team mission recently.
Kokate acknowledged that even as it may be illegal to use the seed at present, the herbicide-tolerant variety has already made its way into villages from Gujarat through black marketeers.
Farmers prefer it as it reduces the cost of labour since weeds can be killed by spraying herbicide.
He also mentioned that there is a labour shortage in the hinterland. This can be addressed by mechanisation. "A machine to pluck cotton is being developed. Alternatively, farmhands can be covered under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme (MNREGS) on a partial basis," he said.
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