Cell for certification of Bt cotton seed planned

The monitoring cell will set seed-testing standards.

FAISALABAD: The University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) is going to set up a bio-monitoring cell for certification of Bt cotton, aimed at enabling growers to cultivate best-quality seed and setting standards for tracing and testing Bt seeds.

UAF Vice Chancellor Dr Iqrar Ahmad, said on the occasion that the university was developing policy papers on wheat storage, Sasti Roti programme of Punjab and Bt cotton based on empirical evidence.

Praising the production of 13.6 million bales of cotton as a big achievement with widespread cultivation of high-yielding Bt cotton seeds, Ahmad expressed the hope that the bio-monitoring cell for certification of Bt seeds would open new windows of services for farmers, seed companies and other stakeholders. The cell will enable breeders, private companies and farmers to get their seeds tested.

Ayub Agricultural Research Institute Director General Dr Noorul Islam Khan recalled the long struggle to create awareness of Bt cotton, saying in early years many things were not clear due to lack of information and analysing capacity, but now the environment demanded such initiatives to educate and update the farmers.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 6^th, 2012.