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 Whitefly destroys 2/3rd of Punjab's cotton crop, 15 farmers commit suicide
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Posted on 10-08-15 3:44 AM     Reply [Subscribe]
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Whitefly destroys 2/3rd of Punjab's cotton crop, 15 farmers commit suicide

Whitefly destroys 2/3rd of Punjab's cotton crop, 15 farmers commit suicide
Farmers of Punjab's Malwa region stage a dharna in Bathinda to seek compensation for the cotton crop damaged by whitefly.

BATHINDA: "It was just like the Japanese air strike in the film, Pearl Harbour," said Naresh Kumar Lehri, a seed and pesticide dealer at Singho village in Punjab's Bathinda district. "They appeared out of nowhere and left a trail of destruction."

Lehri was referring to the devastating attack by whitefly, a common pest, on the cotton crop in Punjab's Malwa region this year. It has affected about two-thirds of standing cotton crop in the state, causing an estimated loss of Rs 4,200 crore.

READ ALSO: Black clouds over BT cotton as whitefly runs amok

There are reports of at least 15 cotton farmers committing suicide. The director of Punjab's agriculture department is under arrest as are several pesticide dealers for selling spurious pesticides. The farmers are on the roads blocking traffic and demanding compensation while the state's Akali Dal-led NDA government has announced a compensation package of Rs 640 crore, dismissed by angry farmers as peanuts.

Punjab has nearly 12 lakh acres under cotton this year and almost all of it is Bt cotton, which is resistant to some major pests such as bollworm. But over the years, whiteflies have regularly attacked cotton plants only to be controlled by intensive spraying of chemical pesticides. But this year, despite a new pesticide being introduced and subsidized by the state government, the whitefly attack spun out of control. The reasons for this virulence are yet unclear but the farmers have a story to tell.

 
Posted on 10-08-15 2:44 PM     [Snapshot: 134]     Reply [Subscribe]
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BT cotton is a GMO, and these farmers were enticed to grow these genetically modified cotton instead of the organic one they've been growing.
Greed is at fault here, and ignorance.
 


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