Mahyco to look east for GM seeds market

With government restricting the introduction of genetically modified seeds in food items, Mumbai-based Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company (Mahyco) plans to sell such seeds in Bangladesh and Philippines.

Mahyco, which has US seed producer Monsanto as 26 per cent stakeholder, has clocked 15 per cent growth this fiscal with Rs 550 crore sales turnover.

"Mahyco has approached with its technology for insect-tolerant Bt brinjal in Bangladesh and Phillipines. In both the countries, regulatory approvals are now awaited,” Raju Barwale, managing director of Mahyco Seeds told Financial Chronicle.

Barwale pointed to an “indefinite moratorium” on Bt brinjal imposed by environment ministry that oversees biotechnology regulator, genetic engineering approval committee (GEAC). This restriction has prompted offer of the technology to other countries.

"In both the countries, Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute and the Institute of Plant Breeding of UP Las Banos in Manila are seeking regulatory approvals for introducing Bt brinjal,” said Barwale.

Manila’s National Academy of Science and Technology said that the technology was acquired for free from Mahyco in a public-private partnership deal brokered by US based Cornell University. Mahyco had taken Monsanto’s consent for transferring the technology.

Mahyco had franchised bt brinjal technology from its US partner that has spent over $300 million to develop the technology, said C Kameshwar Reddy, a Bangalore-based crop biotechnologist and bt brinjal proponent.

The company had given access to bt brinjal gene to Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) scientists and some state agricultural universities in 2005 under a similar arrangement.

Mahyco had spent Rs 55 crore in research activities during the 2010-11. It spent significant portion of it in developing bio-technology based crop research to develop bt rice, bt ladies finger, bt tomatoes, bt maize, bt cabbage and bt cauliflowers so far. It is also developing drought and salt-tolerant crops as well as nutrient-efficient crops.

"Our herbicide resistant variety of popular Bollguard-II (round-up ready flex) bt cotton is also awaiting approval from GEAC. It is likely to be introduced soon,” Barwale said. The scientific community is so far divided in its opinion about the introduction of herbicide-resistant cotton crop in the country.

"There are some anomalies, prices of bt cotton had remained unchanged for last three years. While the Punjab government has agreed to hike the prices of bt cotton seeds, discussion are going on with Andhra, Maharashtra and Gujarat governments,” he said.

Field trials of bt maize developed by the company and being conducted by the Indian Council of Agriculture Research had to be uprooted due to flak from Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar.

"The GEAC had approved trials and they will be ongoing. If mandated, we are ready to avail another round of clearance from states,” Barwale said.

"We will not look to India for our research developments in genetically modified crops if the country feels there is no need for the same,” he added, saying that the company is looking to hike its spend on research and development to Rs 100 crores annually in next three years.

Other than GM cotton seeds, Mahyco offers hybrid seeds in cereals, food grains, vegetables and oilseeds.