Farm Activist Kishore Tiwari to Push Union Agriculture Minister regarding Maharashtra Govt Requisition for Permission to HTBT Cotton Seed

Farm Activist Kishore Tiwari to Push Union Agriculture Minister regarding  Maharashtra Govt  Requisition  for Permission to HTBT Cotton Seed 

Date - 28th August 2025

In a very significant move Vectren Farm activist who was head of Maharashtra Farmer's Mission with minister rank for 8 years now forced to Push Union Agriculture Minister regarding  Maharashtra Govt  Requisition  for Permission to HTBT Cotton Seed  as  this year in Maharashtra , Herbicide Tolerant popularly known as HTBT cotton seeds which is till banned in india and awaiting Genetic Engineering Assessment Committee (GEAC) node has been illegally sold to tune  of  Rs 4,000 crore worth of 3 crore packets of unauthorized Herbicide Resistant cotton seed have been planted in 1 crore acres in Maharashtra during this Monsoon  season, Last year, this area was around 25 Percent in Maharashtra, This year, it has increased to 50 percent, according to sources, on the other hand, the Maharashtra government has repeatedly made official requisition asking the Center to allow the use of  herbicide-resistant cotton HTBT cotton seeds to avoid innocent victimization of dying cotton farmers who are committing suicides due to unregulated   sale of     spurious  fraud by farmers HTBT cotton seeds.

" We has been opposing HTBT cotton seeds due environmental safety issue but adoption of HTBT technology and the sale of these seeds of illegal herbicide-resistant Bt seeds has increased in a large scale in a well-planned manner after 2014. This year in 25 million hectares i.e. 1 crore acres cultivable area the herbicide-resistant cotton HTBT seeds have been planted in Maharashtra. Approximately 3 crore packets of HTBT seeds worth Rs. 4,000 crore have been sold and this has become a matter of concern because these seeds are sold in packets of F-2 cotton seeds costing around 1480 rupees per pocket of half kg .

As this technology in illegally available and of low quality , the cost of production has increased by one and a half times, resulting in a 20 percent decrease in cotton production per quintal per acres . This has become a matter of concern. The main reason for this is that the cost of cutting grass has increased significantly in the last 5 years ' Tiwari said.

The adoption of herbicides tolerant cotton seed due increase in wages and nonavailability of labor for weed cutting resulting 70 percent of the farmers in Maharashtra use illegal Herbicide Resistant Bt seeds, cotton farmers forcing Maharashtra Government asking Genetic Engineering Assessment Committee (GEAC) node and Union Government permission .Kisore Tiwari will meet  union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Chavan to expedite the Maharashtra government requisition for official central  node  to HTBT Cotton Seed  

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