2014 articles

Pest-resistant Bt brinjal comes under pest attack - already

Bt pesticidal brinjal (eggplant) was only introduced into Bangladesh this year - but already it's falling victim to pest attack.

EXCERPT: Haidul Islam … is one of these farmers. Visiting his brinjal field on Tuesday, the FE correspondent found 25-30 per cent of the plants dead and the rest were struggling for survival.

Haidul Islam said: "Agriculture officials told me that I am one of the 20 fortunate farmers who got Bt seeds. It will reduce cost for pesticide."

"But the reality is pests have attacked my plants severely," he said. "Last year, I grew local varieties and made profit. This year Allah knows what will happen to me," he said.

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Pest-resistant Bt brinjal comes under pest attack

Yasir Wardad

Financial Express (Bangladesh), 7 Apr 2014

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2014/04/07/27497

* Farmers now forced to spray pesticides

Bt Brinjal, introduced in the country by the government for its pest resistance, has severely been attacked by pests this season for which farmers are now forced to spray a lot of pesticides, farmers alleged.

Seeds of the genetically modified (GM) vegetable variety, which is being permitted to be cultivated at farmers' level despite huge protest from the biodiversity experts and common people, were given to farmers on January 20 this year.

The Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), under an agreement with multinational seed giant Monsanto-Mahyco, developed Bt Brinjal after inserting Bt gene to nine local brinjal seed varieties.

The BARI said the variety is resistant to pests and farmers do not need pesticides any more.

The Institute got permission from the National Committee on Bio-safety (NCB) for a limited scale cultivation of Bt Brinjal in October last year.

From January 22 this year, 20 farmers from Rangpur, Pabna, Jamalpur, Gazipur, and Sherpur districts in the country were given Bt Brinjal seeds.

Haidul Islam at Shaitail village under Telihati union at Sripur upazila under Gazipur district is one of these farmers.

Visiting his brinjal field on Tuesday, the FE correspondent found 25-30 per cent of the plants dead and the rest were struggling for survival.

Haidul Islam said: "Agriculture officials told me that I am one of the 20 fortunate farmers who got Bt seeds. It will reduce cost for pesticide."

"But the reality is pests have attacked my plants severely," he said.

"Last year, I grew local varieties and made profit. This year Allah knows what will happen to me," he said.

He informed the FE that his field now required more pesticides compared to that of last year.

Another farmer of the same village Mojibur Rahman has the same experience.

"Primarily, the plants grew well, then the leaves were attacked first and later the plants were attacked severely by pests," he said.

During visits to his fields on Tuesday, he told the FE that BARI officials suggested him to spray fungicide "Bebistine" and pesticide "Vertimec" to save the plants.

Sub-assistant agricultural officer of Telihati Union Md Shahdat Hossain told the FE that fertility of the lands has been reducing day by day in his area as farmers now cultivate only one crop---brinjal.

He said Bt Brinjal fields have been attacked by pests as they do in case of other brinjal fields.

Local farmers at Telihati told the FE that farmers, who cultivated Bt Brinjal, were given Tk 8,000 in two installments.

They said farmers were not aware about the seed. Later they knew about its controversy from the newspapers.

Shankar Chandra Roy at Khotkhotia village in Rangpur Sadar upazila said over cell phone that half of his Bt Brinjal plants have died.

The rest of the plants were attacked by "jab" pest, he said.

He said that agricultural officials have asked him to spray various kinds of pesticides.

Chairman of Bij Bistar Foundation and crop specialist Dr MA Sobhan told the FE that a team of his organisation visited the Bt Brinjal fields at Bhoroimari and Boktarpur village under Iswardi upazila in Pabna district last week.

He said, "We visited two fields where plants have been attacked by red and white fly, jab and other pests."

He said, "It is natural. Bt Brinjal is resistant only to shoot borer, but nearly 37 kinds of pests attack brinjal. The genetic engineering might have made the brinjal variety further weak to other pest attacks."

However, the government approved Bt Brinjal in Bangladesh, but it has been banned in India and the Philippines amid massive protests from environmentalists, biodiversity experts and ordinary citizens there.

Bangladeshi experts also expressed their grave concern that GMO brinjal would affect biodiversity and could cause severe health hazards to humans, other animals and plants.

Multinational seed giant Monsanto and its Indian ally Mahyco, with the financial assistance of the USAID, developed the BT Brinjal seeds.

However, the Philippines government banned Bt Brinjal in the country at a time (October 30, 2013) when the Bangladesh National Committee on Bio-Safety (NCB) gave approval to it in the country.