Authorities in India's main cotton growing region are raiding farmers and traders to prevent rampant illegal planting of genetically modified (GMO) cotton, officials said on Tuesday.

Farmers are estimated to have planted unapproved GMO cotton in more than half a million acres (208,333 hectares) of land this year in Gujarat, India's largest cotton producing state, they said. The crop sowing started in June.

"We are conducting surprise checks across the state and seizing samples of illegal seeds," R.A. Sherasiya, Gujarat's agriculture director, told Reuters.

He said Bt cotton - the first GMO seed allowed by India - had been well received in Gujarat.

India opened the door to GMO technology in 2002 after years of trials and allowed Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Co. (MAHYCO), in which U.S. biotech giant Monsanto Co (MON.N) owns a 26 percent stake, to sell three hybrids of GMO cotton.

So far, only two companies are allowed to sell GMO cotton, but other firms have been selling the seed at lower prices without government approval. Some growers procure GMO seed from other farmers, who have stocks from the previous crop.

The seed is being marketed by Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (India) Ltd., a joint venture between the two companies. Mahyco has sub-licensed the technology to Rasi Seeds Pvt. Ltd. to produce GMO cotton seed.

GMO cotton, in its third year of use in India, is estimated to have covered more than three million acres area in the country in 2004 - triple the acreage in 2003, traders said.

India has the world's largest cotton cultivation area of about 22 million acres, but ranks third in output behind China and the United States.

Officials in Gujarat have seized 61,000 kg of illegal GMO seeds, raided more than 200 premises of farmers and seed traders and filed cases against a dozen people, Sherasiya said.

Gujarat had earlier destroyed some transgenic cotton grown illegally by farmers. People are allowed to grow only approved hybrids, but monitoring is poor. Bt cotton aims to protect crops from pests and lower the costs of spraying insecticides. It contains a strand of genetic material from the naturally occurring soil micro-organism Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt).

Though the GMO cotton is said to enhance yields as much as 30 percent in comparison to traditional varieties, complaints of crop failure have also been reported, officials said.

They said planting of illegal GMO cotton was not limited to Gujarat and farmers in north and south India too were illegally growing genetically modified cotton. "We have been earnestly doing our bit to prevent this. But it's like some people prefer to drive without a license even if they can easily get one," Sherasiya said. The Gujarat government has been issuing advertisements in farm journals and other visual media urging farmers not to plant unapproved seeds procured from traders and co-farmers.

"We are happy with the steps being taken by the government to curb spurious seeds. We are also taking initiatives to spread awareness about the benefits of planting legal seeds," a spokeswoman for Monsanto's Indian arm said.

© Reuters 2004