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Ajit Singh defends govt's decision on Bt cotton

Union Agriculture Minister Ajit Singh on Tuesday defended the government's decision permitting regulated commercial cultivation of Bt cotton, saying the genetically modified seed would increase productivity through elimination of losses due to pest attacks.

The decision to introduce Bt cotton had been taken after thorough testing of the genetically modified product that would help Indian farmers increase productivity and eliminate losses from pests, said the minister who was in Jaipur to launch training component of the scheme for agriculture clinics and agri-business centres.

Singh said farmers in the US, China, Mexico and Brazil were reaping the benefits of Bt cotton through increased productivity and quality. European Union was, however, opposing Bt cotton due to its own reasons, he added.

"We cannot put a total blanket ban on biotechnology in agriculture sector. However, we should be careful in evaluating the effects of genetically modified products on environment."

Buttressing his point, the minister said the Indian scientists were also working on developing transgenic seeds of rice, tomato and potato.

Singh also defended the Rs 10 per quintal increase in minimum support price for wheat crop.

He castigated the financial press for opposing the increase in the MSP of wheat, saying, "do you want to penalize farmers for giving good production?"

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