HYDERABAD, May 8: The Provincial Seed Council has given provisional approval for production of the 'controversial' variety of BT cotton on a trial basis, taking into account the variety's great potential.

Punjab approved its production on a permanent basis about two years ago.

BT cotton has remained controversial since its arrival in the country from Australia and it appears that even after its approval there are many voices opposing it.

The growers' representatives, Gada Hussain Mahesar and Haji Nadeem Shah raised objections to the variety at a meeting held in Karachi on Saturday and chaired by Sindh Minister for Agriculture Syed Ali Nawaz Shah.

The meeting was also attended by agriculture secretary Agha Jan Akhtar, managing director of Sindh Seed Corporation (SSC) Shafiq Mahesar and representatives of breeders and growers.

Some NGOs and organisations working for environment have expressed reservations over the production of BT cotton on the grounds that it is not suitable for growers and causes skin diseases.

The variety was brought from Australia by some growers who grew it locally and produced it on farms after it showed exceptional results.

BT cotton grows in humid conditions and it easily grows in lower Sindh region, known for humidity. Because of its tremendous turnover, many growers switched over to this variety although the SSC had not registered the seed.“We had raised this issue a decade ago and now the government has realised that the seed should be given a provisional approval, which means it will be finally registered and its sale will be considered legal for growers after its basic and pre-basic seed is made available,” said Abdul Majeed Nizamani, president of Sindh Abadgar Board.

According to Shafiq Mahesar, the provisional approval has been given for one year, which means it will be grown in different climatic conditions and breeders will conduct research on it and present their reports to the government. He said its sale would not be illegal during the period mentioned.

Sindh government's Agriculture Research Department has requested the National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering to conduct further research on the variety. Agriculture Research DG Hidayatullah Chajro said that BT cotton's average production was 45 to 50 kg per acre and it had already been registered in Punjab.

He said the variety had been on the council's agenda for a few years and was grown at different locations. The council's sub-technical committee submitted its initial reports and then it was approved provisionally for a year, he said.

According to Mr Nizamani, per hectare production of lint cotton of BT variety is 1,100kg to 1,135kg in 2009-10 in Sindh, particularly lower Sindh, as compared to Punjab's 635kg and India's 52kg. “This shows that BT cotton has shown marvellous output in Sindh which is better even than other countries of the region,” he said.

He claimed that per hectare lint cotton production in Sindh during last year's Kharif season was recorded at 1,400kg per hectare, which was again exceptional.

“Now, since the government has finally realised its importance the seed will be registered. Lower Sindh region's climatic conditions are favourable to this variety,” he said.

Gada Hussain Mahesar said that BT cotton should not be discussed from the point of view of yield, and said research should be conducted on the seed which was also used for extracting edible oil.

He cited a laboratory test report, showing that any agricultural commodity with more than one per cent content of aflatoxin was dangerous for human consumption and said that no such test report was presented at the council meeting.

“In reply to my query at the meeting whether such a test has been conducted the reply was in the negative. All are looking at the seed's potential for per acre yield and no one is looking into its related aspects directly dealing with human health,” he said.

The production of BT cotton in lower and upper Sindh areas is around 20 per cent of the total cotton yield.

Matiari's Syed Nadeem Shah, chief of a grower organisation, said that he had also pointed out the issue of aflatoxin but the meeting was informed by some participants that Bio Safety Commission which worked under the Ministry of Environment had given a certificate for the seed's production.

“We were told that it is being grown in other countries which are more cautious about health and hygiene issues than us,” he said.