Bt Brinjal The scope and adequacy of the GEAC environmental risk assessment

Context and Need 11and seek to increase their profits by increasing brinjal yield. They typically purchase hybrid brinjal seed from certified seedsuppliers to obtain high-yielding varieties and they then protect the plants from pests with pesticides. Large-scale commercialproducers are common around the large cities, where they have a ready market to supply the urban demand for brinjal.In contrast, small-scale resource-poor farmers produce brinjal to help cash flow, insure themselves against income variationin other crops, and provide their families with needed nutrition from a vegetable crop. For these farmers, brinjal productionis essential for their overall economic security and well-being (APEDA 2009). This is not to say that they don’t try to generatehigher net income as well, but that the other goals are more important. These farmers obtain nearly all of their farm inputsfor brinjal locally, except for some insecticides. They recycle OPV brinjal seed and exchange seed with other local farmers via areciprocity system. Seed of local varieties may be held temporarily in informal local seed banks. Brinjal is harvested daily, andthe surplus over daily household needs is sold in local village and town markets. In this way, brinjal provides a small daily cashincome over a long period of time, helping stabilise cash flow, which can be used to purchase clothing and school materials. Inaddition, it provides a critical buffer against income variation from other crops and important nutrition to the family. As onemeasure of economic security, the suicide rate among small-scale resource-poor brinjal farmers is among the lowest in India(Karnataka 2002)A switch to hybrid Bt brinjal seed by a small-scale resource-poor farmer may jeopardise their economic security. The extraexpense of purchasing hybrid brinjal seeds also entails purchase of additional inputs suggested by the seed company to ensurecapture of the yield benefits of the hybrid. This reduces cash flow potential and increases the risk in producing brinjal so that itno longer functions as insurance against variability in other crops. In addition, Bt brinjal hybrids, which enter a mass market,will not have the same local market as the local non-hybrid brinjal varieties, which enter a local niche market based on theirlocal characteristics. Consequently farmers may have more difficulty selling Bt brinjal through their normal channels and mayneed to find and access additional markets to sell them.Consequently, EE-1 Bt brinjal may have little trouble slotting into the production system of some large-scale brinjal farmers.However, if adopted by small-scale resource-poor farmers, it may disrupt their economic security.Finding 5. Brinjal fruit and shoot borer (BFSB) causessignificant economic damage to brinjal throughout India forFig. 1. Brinjal fruit and stem borer adult (Leucinodesorbonalis Guenee). Copyright 1994-2010 Len Willan andCSIRO Entomologyall farmers, probably about 30% yield loss compared to nocontrol. Many factors reduce losses, including soil statusand cultivation conditions. Its perceived significance byfarmers may precipitate an over-response relative to its trueeconomic significance. Real losses from BFSB are higherfor large-scale commercial producers than for small-scaleresource-poor producers because of the way damaged fruitcan be used. EC-II vastly over-estimated losses to BFSB.Brinjal fruit and stem borer (BFSB), Leucinodes orbonalisGuenee is a medium-sized moth [Lepidoptera: Crambidae] inthe subfamily Pyraustinae (Fig. 1). The larvae (caterpillars) causedamage to brinjal by boring into stems and fruits. The adults cause no damage.BFSB populations and economic damage vary by time of season, cultivation practice, brinjal variety, geographic locationand soil conditions. Damage is typically higher during the kharif season than the rabi season, although it can be high duringthe rabi season. Its damage is greatest during the six weeks from late July to early September. Populations and damage arelowest under crop rotation, high soil organic matter content (SOM), good soil drainage, low plant residue, low plant density,and intercropping. They are highest under continuous cropping, low SOM, easily waterlogged soils, high plant residue, highplant density, and monoculture. Geographic locations with a longer monsoon season give BFSB only a limited time to buildup populations during the summer, and damage is low. For example the Udipigulla variety, which is grown in the west coastalregion of Karnataka where heavy rainfall confines BFSB to a short summer season, suffers little economic damage from BSFB.