ISAAA Brief 47: The Status of Commercialized Bt Brinjal in Bangladesh

ISAAA releases the latest Brief 47: The Status of Commercialized Bt Brinjal in Bangladesh. Brief 47 presents a thorough review and analysis of the deregulation of Bt brinjal in Bangladesh – from the scientific and biosafety assessment and commercial release to the planting of Bt brinjal by farmers in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is the first country in the world to approve the commercial planting of four varieties of the insect resistant Bt brinjal on October 30, 2013. Subsequently, 20 farmers planted Bt brinjal seedlings on over 2 hectares (each on 1 bigha equivalent to 0.13 ha) in four brinjal growing regions of Gazipur, Jamalpur, Pabna/Ishurdi and Rangpur in the spring season 2014. Notably, Bt brinjal allowed farmers to raise healthy and vigorous brinjal crop, substantially cut down pesticide sprays to control fruit and shoot borer (FSB), considerably decreased cost of cultivation and significantly increased marketable yield.

The Union Minister of Agriculture Ms. Matia Chowdhury, in her message for ISAAA Brief 47, supports the use of Bt brinjal in Bangladesh and endorses the commercial approval of Bt brinjal as a step in the right direction. Congratulating the authors for bringing out facts on Bt brinjal to the people of Bangladesh and to the global society, Minister Chowdhury referred to ISAAA Brief 47 as a comprehensive document that will help readers understand the rationale for commercial release of Bt brinjal in Bangladesh.

Suggesting a coherent approach on information and knowledge sharing on Bt brinjal in Bangladesh, Minister Chowdhury emphasizes that "we accord the highest priority to the safety and benefits to the society but shun any activity that intends to spread misinformation and misguide the public about Bt brinjal or other products that are evaluated by public sector research institutions."

Presenting the field level experience and evidence, Brief 47 also encapsulates the testimonials of experts and farmers attesting the benefits of Bt brinjal after a bountiful harvest in the first cropping season 2014. The Brief also presents a set of Bt brinjal photos from farmers' field and a collection of highly cited references on Bt brinjal in Bangladesh.

Download ISAAA Brief 47: The Status of Commercialized Bt Brinjal in Bangladesh from www.isaaa.org/india. For a print copy of ISAAA Brief 47, email your request to b.choudhary@cgiar.org or nasirbiotech@yahoo.com. For ISAAA Brief 47, Minister's Message, Executive Summary, Top Ten Facts on Bt Brinjal and photo gallery, visit www.isaaa.org and www.isaaa.org/india. Readers are also encouraged to refer to previous ISAAA Brief 38: The Development and Regulation of Bt Brinjal in India available at http://www.isaaa.org/resources/publications/briefs/38/download/isaaa-brief-38-2009.pdf. Mr. Mark Lynas video on Bt brinjal in Bangladesh can be downloaded from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LoKPldPopU. ISAAA Bt brinjal videos The Story of Bt Brinjal in India and Bt Brinjal: Safer, Better and Affordable can be downloaded from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUqvfpNhGGQ.