The crop diversification policy of the Haryana government seems to be bearing fruit at last. The area under cotton crop in the state is going to increase to 5.25 lakh hectares from the 4.83 lakh hectares last year, said sources in the Haryana Agriculture Department. Both the desi variety and the BT cotton is going to be sown over a larger area this year. Cotton is generally grown in Hisar, Sirsa, Jind, Fatehabad and Bhiwani districts. May is the sowing season for BT cotton. Having found general acceptability among the people, BT cotton had become more popular with the farmers now.

The Gujarat government is up in arms against multinational companies selling Bt cotton seeds in the state. Taking into account the rising demand of such seeds and higher prices, the state government has decided to sell Bt cotton seeds at subsidised rates (Rs 50 less than other marketers) through Gujarat State Seeds Corporation (GSSCL) this month.

Hundreds of farmers and consumers from 15 states gathered in the Capital demanding a moratorium on genetically modified (GM) crops. The protest under the banner of the Coalition for a GM-free India comes at a time when the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) is slated to consider Mahyco's application for experimental seed production of its Bt brinjal. Mahyco's joint director of research, Usha Barwale Zehr said, "The last time we had a food crisis, we were bailed out by the Green Revolution.

Harjant Singh, Hartej Singh, Amarjit Singh, Vinod Jyani and Rajneet Singh are "natural' farmers from the cotton belt of Punjab who were here in the Capital today to demand a complete ban on the Genetically Modified (GM) crops and foods in the country. They were among hundreds of farmers and consumers from 15 states of the country who gathered on "protesting pavement' of the Jantar Mantar saying they would not "become guinea pigs in experimentation in the name of GM food and crops', adding that the GM crops were certainly no answer for the country's food security.

Hundreds of farmers under the banner of "Coalition for a GM-Free India' gathered here on Tuesday to demand a total ban on genetically modified (GM) crops and food saying it would affect not only humans but livestock, soil and environment. They urged the political parties to take a categorical stand on GM technology in the run-up to the coming general elections. "It is an unwanted, irretrievable, undesirable technology,' they asserted.

The farmers, environmental and women organisation from different states will be gathering in Delhi on Tuesday in protest against genetically modified (GM) crops. Representatives from 15 states, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, are expected to take part in the protest at Jantar Mantar.

Like bt cotton, hybrid varieties of maize, having higher protein content have the potential to create a revolution in the country, ensuring nutritional security to poor as well as for poultry industry, farm experts said. Under the quality protein maize (QPM) programme, there are atleast 10 varieties of maize available in the country. Protein content in QPM is about 74% while it is only 37% in normal maize. Interestingly, protein quality of QPM is 90% of that of milk, they said.

Civil society organisations working on the food security issues here have expressed concern over what they describe as lack of public participation in policy-making on bio-safety in India in the run-up to the international conference of the signatories to the Cartagena Protocol on Bio-safety to be held in Bonn, Germany, from May 12 to 16.

Over GM crop trial: The anti-GM lobby group in New Zealand has challenged the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) for approving 10-year-field trials for genetically modified brassicas.