Monsanto's drought-tolerant GM cotton variety to be launched soon

Monsanto, the world's leading seed company, is developing a drought-tolerant genetically modified cotton variety that could be launched for commercial cultivation by 2015.

Jerry Steiner, vice president of Monsanto, said: "We hope to launch a drought-tolerant cotton seed by the middle of the next decade. But five years from now, we will be able to announce whether we can launch drought-tolerant seeds by that time."

Monsanto officials also said the company is currently researching genetically modified seeds that can minimize fertilizer use.

The basic characteristics for which genetically modified seeds are known are reducing the risk of pest damage, helping farmers lower input costs, and reducing the amount of pesticides used.

Steiner said Monsanto has not charged excessive technology fees to Indian companies, and the rumors are incorrect.

Monsanto officials also said the company stopped launching its second genetically modified cotton seed, Bollgard, in China because China's intellectual property records are poor.

Steiner said Monsanto has been in India for 50 years and will continue to stay in India.

Monsanto officials said the genetically modified seeds the company develops are mainly focused on three crops: corn, soybeans and cotton. At the same time, the company is also actively developing high-yield non-GMO vegetable seeds.

He said India's cotton water use is 35% higher, but its yields are 20% lower than those of Egypt and the United States.

He said the world's biotech crop planting area is 1.4 billion acres, with 10.3 million farmers growing biotech crops, and 90% of growers are in developing countries. From 1996 to 2006, farmers' incomes increased by more than 27 billion US dollars.