LAHORE: The early sown uncertified hybrid biotechnology Bt cotton has come under sucking pest attack at its early stage in cotton growing districts of Punjab. Founder Agriculture Produce Protection Organisation Farooque Bajwa told Business Recorder that this problem was discussed in a meeting of Punjab Pesticide Control Committee which he attended at a representative of growers here on Monday.

He said the government has not yet certified and allowed commercial cultivation of this Bt cotton in Pakistan. "However due to lack of co-ordination between the growers and the Agriculture department that the growers have sown Bt seed over 65 percent of the 6 million acres under cotton cultivation in Punjab, he added.

Some growers think that the genetically engineered BT cotton seed developed by a US multinational company would help increase per acre production as this cotton remains safe from the attacks of pests and sundies. Bajwa said Bt cotton seed is being illegally sown in March and April at the cost of wheat crop to pick seed cotton (phutti) in July, almost two months before the traditional first pick of the cotton crop. "What is the use of this off-season pick when our ginning factories are not working?" he asked.

However, a government agriculture expert said the cotton crop is synonymous with pests and all varieties of cotton are attacked by pests when they reach at a certain height. "There is no harm if we use biotechnology to increase our per acre yield which is constantly on decline," he added.

Experts say there are many reasons for low yields of cotton crop in Pakistan - high price of agriculture inputs (seeds, fertilisers, pesticides etc), higher intensity of insects and pests attack, shortage of good quality and varieties of seeds, deficiency of water for irrigation, lack of advance technologies, awareness and agro-professionalism, and adulterations in pesticides, fertilisers and seeds.

Moreover, they point out that farmers are facing with a number of risks till marketing of their crops including unexpected factors like inflation, high price of energy, unfair competition and speculation in open market by big cotton buyers.

They agree that Biotechnology offers tremendous benefits to the agriculture in Pakistan. But to benefit from its true potential, government and all key stakeholders including farmers, seed companies, R & D institutes, seed dealers and traders involved in commercial activity related to seed will have to act responsibly and ethically.

"We have to ensure effective, stringent, and transparent enforcement of Biosafety Rules 2005, Seed Act 1976, and Punjab Cotton Control Ordinance, to encourage the introduction of technology through legal means with its complete package of benefits," they emphasise.