Indonesia plants Bt corn to minimize imports

SOUTH SULAWESI, Indonesia – The Indonesian government has launched a Bt or genetically modified (GM) cotton production program on this northern island to minimize the volume of its cotton imports.

"For the purpose of meeting domestic requirement for cotton, a variety of superior cotton plant resistant to main cotton pests is urgently needed," the Ministry of Agriculture has decreed as it allowed the commercial planting this year of GM cotton in 4,000 hectares in seven districts of South Sulawesi province.

Records show that Indonesia imported 454,476 tons of cotton valued at $763.9 million in 1998.

Twenty years earlier, in 1978, cotton imports reached only 90,820 tons valued at $118.96 million. By 1987, imports had reached 211,484 tons valued at $265.6 million. It soared to a record high of 492,783 tons ($961 million) in 1996.

The bulk of Indonesia’s cotton imports comes from Australia – 1.144 million bales (480 pounds per bale) in 1998-1999. Other big exporters to Indonesia are the United States, China, Cote D’Ivoire, and Syria.

The Ministry of Agriculture’s decision to venture into Bt cotton production stemmed from the success of last year’s experimental trials of the genetically engineered transgenic Bt DP 5690B cotton, commonly named NuCOTN 35 b (Bollgard) developed by the transnational chemical firm Monsanto.

The trials covered the districts of Bantaeng, Bone, Bulukumba, Gowa, Soppeng, Takalar, and Wajo, all in this province.

In issuing the decree clearing the limited release and planting of the cotton variety in 4,000 hectares, the Ministry of Agriculture noted that based on the results of the adaptation test in the seven districts, "transgenic Bt DP 5690B cotton is resistant to the main pest of cotton, Hilicoverpa armigera, has high productivity and good quality fiber."

"Based on the result of biosafety assessment test, transgenic Bt DP 5690B cotton is safe for the environment and biodiversity," it stressed. It further categorized the GM cotton as a "superior variety."

Scientists of the Los Baños-based International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications-Southeast Asia Center (ISAAA-SEAC) and this writer visited the Bt cotton farms in Bantaeng district recently and saw the lushness of the cotton plants, promising the farmers a bounty harvest.

Last year, during the adaptation trials, those who participated earned much more than what they used to when they planted the traditional cotton varieties.

Bollgard yielded an average of 1.12-3 tons per hectare. One farmer we interviewed said he produced 3.8 t/ha, netting 7.62 million rupiahs in one season (five months).

The traditional varieties turned out only an average of .53 to 1.43 t/ha.

In Bantaeng district, we gathered, Bollgard planting gave farmers an average net income per hectare of 3.88 million rupiahs compared to the 747,000 rupiahs per hectare for planting the local variety.

Monsanto/PT Monagro Kimia started variety trials in Indonesia in 1996, specifically in South Sulawesi, to find the best cotton variety to be developed in the country.

In 1998, as part of the regulatory process for the commercialization of genetically improved crops, glasshouse trials and limited field trials were conducted. In 1999, Bt cotton was approved and declared as environmentally safe to be planted in Indonesia.

Last year, a number of studies were conducted, including multi-location, farmers’ acceptance and effects on nontarget organisms trials.

Based on the outcome, the Ministry of Agriculture issued a decree last February allowing limited planting of Bollgard cotton in 4,000 ha in seven districts in South Sulawesi for one year.