Dr. Keshav R Kranthi, who was the director of the Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR) will move to Washington to head the technical coordination section of the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) on March 21.
"We could have used his vision of science beyond cotton. I definitely see it as a brain drain. He had raised the image of a public sector research institute in the country to a great extent. Kranthi had shown that Bt can be introduced in indigenous varieties of cotton that can be grown in dry land areas of Vidarbha and other places too," Dr. Mayee, former Chairman of ASRB said. "He was promoting Bt in indigenous varieties which allow farmers to produce their own seeds. The seed industry lobby did not want this as it brings down their sales," Said Mr. Vijay Jawandhiya, an agriculture activist.
