Monday, August 4, 2008

Aftab Maken

In a meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif in the chair at Lahore, the Punjab government was to strike a deal with representatives of the US company Monsanto for getting exclusive rights of Bt cotton variety to enhance the declining production of cotton in the country, sources privy to the meeting told The News.

Some of the officials from the provincial department who allegedly patronised the illegal multiplication of Bt cotton seed in the province wanted to strike a deal with the company for the right of Bollguard-I for using it in local production, they added.

For getting Bt cotton gene by paying Rs5 billion annually, the same official feared that some of the provincial officials were involved in getting commission from this deal, while Monsanto was getting a handsome amount of Rs5 billion for technology, for which it does not have the patent, he added.

Multiplication of Bt cotton variety in Punjab was patronised by a federal minister of the Aziz government, who was also a part of this briefing but did not attend the meeting. He allegedly wanted to acquire this technology to market its illegal multicoated variety, an official of the federal government who asked not to be named, told this correspondent.

After Bollguard-I (first generation Bt), Monsanto has introduced in the market Bollguard-II in more or less the same genotypes (varieties), a prominent scientist from Punjab, also requesting anonymity, told this correspondent from Lahore. "The federal government should acquire the latest one, ie, Bollguard-II." The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, and Livestock (MINFAL) and Monsanto Company (USA) signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to use collective expertise to expand cotton production in Pakistan through the introduction of Monsanto-derived insect-protection technology Bollguard.

Some technical staffers from the Punjab government`s cotton department advised the provincial government to acquire Bollguard-I from Monsanto by paying Rs5 billion, which would be some sort of subsidy to the farming community, said another participant of the meeting.

"It is a thorny issue and cannot be solved in a single meeting. However, it needs input from all the stakeholders and other ways to get this modern technology in cotton production enhancement will not be fruitful," said an official at MINFAL when asked for comments.

The current decline in cotton production and the outbreak of the mealy bug in the cotton belt are mainly attributed to illegal sowing of Bt cotton. This business is allegedly being patronised by the federal and provincial seed departments.

"All the agreements, whosoever in the future signs for acquiring Bt cotton gene, will originate from the LoI signed between Monsanto and MINFAL for using collective expertise to expand cotton production in the country," said an official from PARC.

It would be better for both, the farming community and investors from abroad to enter collective expertise with the local companies or scientists, he added.