Now, farmers can breed new Bt cotton varieties without NoC from developer

Authority expected to proceed with registration of applications for new varieties without NoC

In a major relief for plant breeders and farmers, the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPVFR), the regulatory authority which supervises the rights of seed companies, has decided to dispense with the requirement of no-objection certificates (NoC) from the trait developer for breeding new Bt cotton varieties with genetically modified (GM) traits.

Informed sources said that the authority, under the chairmanship of R R Hanchinal, passed the resolution in its meeting held recently after receiving complaints from the users of GM cotton seeds, popularly known as Bt cotton, about the arbitrariness of the NoC stipulation, which was leading