iStock photoAbout 1,000 farmers on Monday sowed herbicide-tolerant BT cotton seeds to protest against the government’s reluctance to let them use such seeds that they feel would be more productive. But herbicide-tolerant Bt cotton is still not allowed in India. Other than Bt cotton, the carrying, storing, selling or sowing of GM crops, including HT Bt cotton, invites a fine of Rs1 lakh and five years’ imprisonment. Farmer Lalit Patil Bahale was the first to sow the herbicide-tolerant Bt cotton and Bt brinjal seeds in his field in Akot, in Akola district of Maharashtra during the protest. “I am tired of the government’s apathy and indecisiveness in approving the next generation of genetically modified (GM) cotton,” he told this website.

Source: The Telegraph June 11, 2019 14:15 UTC