Seed availability for non-GM cotton production - An explorative study

Summary

This explorative study is an inventory: A first assessment of the problems of accessing organic seed and the contamination of organic cotton seed with genetic modification (GM) in the field. Outcomes of the inventory lead to hypotheses to be tested in further regional workshops. This inventory is an initial step in developing a master plan for safeguarding the availability of organic cotton seed.
Approximately 81% of respondents overall, including 90% of organic farmers who responded, are of the opinion that organic cotton seed is difficult to access. In countries where GM cotton is predominant (the USA, India, China and Burkina Faso) close to 90% of respondents feel it is “difficult” to “impossible” to access organic cotton seed. Accessing organic cotton seed is considered problematic even in countries where GM cotton is not grown.
Close to 96% of respondents believe that seed multiplication programmes are important to ensure the availability of organic cotton seed.
Next to seed multiplication, breeding programmes to better adapt varieties to organic and low-input growing conditions were a priority. It is recommended that workshops be implemented in India, China and West-Africa to develop detailed seed strategies for those areas.