Many research institutions and activist groups have advised farmers to use less pesticides and chemical sprays for crops and go “organic”. How does Bt brinjal fit in with this idea?

There is no effective counter to pests such as the fruit and shoot borer in organic cultivation of brinjal. Most available methods fall far short of effective goals at pest control and are labour and resource intensive, rendering them impractical and prohibitive. Bt brinjal, on the other hand, uses a gene from a naturally occurring soil bacterium to produce a protein that effectively combats the fruit and shoot borer, significantly reducing or even eliminating pesticide usage for this pest. This is a major step towards the stated goal of organic cultivation.