Cotton Crisis in AP

Cotton Crisis in AP-Crop failure due to localised Bt Cotton seeds

The use of localized Bt cotton seeds resulting in crop failure is one of the most prominent problems of the farmers in AP. The seed companies are refusing to compensate the farmers, blaming them for wrong cultivation methods.

Durgi: Even when the rain gods smile, the angst remains for the farmer when his efforts end up in vain due to his seeds. "This grim situation continues and so bogus seeds thrive," said Mandal Revenue Officer (MRO) of Durgi Mr. T.V.Subramanium. The disturbing news of the rise of Bt cotton stems from the use of such seeds that have found takers in the market, seed companies that supply them.The market price of Bt cotton ranges from Rs.1600-1800 for a 750gm pack while the bogus ones come cheap at Rs.450-600 per pack.


Undoubtedly farming is still the major source of livelihood for many people in India. The government of AP had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Mahyco Monsanto Biotech Ltd with a clause that stipulated compensation in case of crop failure.

Though the condition has deteriorated rapidly over the years, the company blamed the farmers for wrong cultivation methods and rejected any hopes for compensation. Recent crop failures in Andhra Pradesh have questions over use of Bt cotton and on May 3, 2005, the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) at the Ministry of Environment and Forests cancelled its earlier approval for Mahyco Monsanto Biotech Ltd, for the commercial cultivation of three varieties of transgenic Bt cotton seeds in Andhra Pradesh.

One may wonder why farmers buy suspect Bt seeds when non-Bt options are available . Over the last few decades cotton farming in the districts of AP has relied heavily on external inputs, including hybrid seeds and pesticides. The huge propaganda with Bt cotton seeds projected as being solutions to pesticide driven cotton farming (since the claim is that they obviate the need for pesticides) came across to the farmers as welcome change.

Further a farmer who wants a bill for purchasing seeds has to pay more and so he opts for a less priced variety and hence fake seeds find buyers. The Agricultural Officer (AO) of Durgi, Adams said "There are no fake seeds. They are rural varieties of the same seeds. Some may yield better harvest while sometimes it fails." The farmers are ignorant of the market price of the crop and it is usually the agent who buys his produce and he gives his own price which is accepted.

The economic aspect has seen the rise of small time money-lenders who charge high interest rates. The farmers also have a hard time from rural credit banks. To be more precise, the farmer has to rely on banks to get his quota of seeds in the form of loans. Two farmers Pulimela Annara from Mutkur Village and Korapettu Vasu from Bodalvedu said "On an acre we get about Rs.10,000 without interest ." They are given a book by the bank which records amount paid to the individual per acre and the land is mortgaged to the bank.

Farming alone does not feed the family year round and daily wage labour takes precedence once a harvest occurs and mostly they have two cycles of crops during a year.

Now with crop failure, the MRO said "The small farmers who own about an acre or two are the worst affected." There is also a tendency to spend the money on marriages and festivals too he opines. The banks visit the farmer every now and then to recover the debt which adds to his humiliation. While the bogus seeds grow in the market, the hybrid fails to attain its much hyped yields, the farmer looks to the skies in vain.

Reality Check

Police and Bloodshed in Palnadu - Beyond the barrel of a gun

Any system needs interaction among its elements but in the conflict between the naxals and the police in Palnadu violence emerges as the only accepted means of settling disputes while the toll keeps mounting.


Palnadu: Naxalism is a hushed up word in the hamlets and hills of Palnadu. This is because "Annalu"-meaning big brother is omnipresent and has a thousand eyes and ears. So fear compels them to be discreet. It's a straightforward choice, be silent or be silenced. Development is a mirage here where the police fear to tread. Civic amenities and basic necessities are non-existent and mere survival becomes vital. In this situation either lady luck smiles on you or a gun barrel stares you down.

The authorities admit that worsening circumstances in deprived villages, poverty, unemployment and lack of health coupled with medicare, sanitation facilities and a caste setup, steeped in feudalism and factionalism, have led to the escalation of extremism in Palnadu.

The Superintendent of Police of Guntur,V Sajjanar said that the under developed regions were exploited by these extremists in the primary level which has resulted to their meteoric rise in power and present status. The hills are a perfect hiding place with the forests acting as a great camouflage. He added that the unemployed youth were attracted to name, fame (notoriety), challenge and power that an extremist commands.

This has led to a disturbing trend in the form of rising number of recruits for a violent cause. The underlying fact is that they have become organised. naxalism can no longer be treated as a mere law and order issue. A parallel government by the naxals is the current reality.

In an effort to normalize and bring law and order, Sajjanar has a plan, a three-point strategy as a counter ploy. Measures include rounding-up sympathisers, and possible informers, arrests and encounters to bring them to book and cutting their supply routes. The government has also started a propaganda war to counter the influence of the naxals trying to reach out to the masses, and also promising developmental projects. The unemployment situation is being tackled with increased recruitment in the police force.

The District Superintendent of Police of Narsaraopet,Prithvi Narayan has his own views. He claimed that those who are recruited and are leaders of this cause are mostly dropouts and it is improbable to see them as motivated, ideal, visionary and cause-driven leaders. As an answer to the ongoing armed conflict between the administration and the rebels, he was cynical in response by saying that the extremists were getting the taste of their own medicine. The last step by the authority was to bring in the Greyhounds, an elite police force set up to fight the insurgents. Their patrolling and combatting operations have forced the extremists to retreat further into the hills

For the helpless local population, trapped between two extremes, there seem to be no choices. Though a majority of them remain silent, their sympathies and loyalties are commanded by those who help and those who command respect through fear.