The Union Government has hiked the minimum sale price (MSP) of cottonseed by 5 per cent to Rs767 for a packet of 450 gm of Bollgard-II seed. The price of Bollgard-I is put at Rs635/packet.
As per A SRTEPC report, the trade sells about 5-5.5 crore packets (of 450 gm every) of cottonseed each year. The price hike has evoked blended response from the trade and farmers. While the seed trade has welcomed the transfer, farmers stated it will additional enhance value of production for them.
Rasi Seeds, Kaveri Seed and Nuziveedu Seeds, which have an combination share of 26 million packets , have appreciated the price hike while Vijoo Krishnan, Joint Secretary of the All-India KisanSabha, condemned it.
Prabhakara Rao, President, National Seed Association of India said, they had asked the price to be hiked to Rs810. But the Government increased it by only 5 per cent.
The affiliation represents the seed firms that take the Bollgard-II know-how from Monsanto, via its Indian three way partnership Mahyco Monsanto, to equip their hybrids with means to guard the crops from pink bollworm.
