Genetically modified seeds can give higher farm yield but they come at a high price because the real cost of the seeds comes from the sustained dependency of the farmer on the seed company. In fact, for the control it gets on the farmers, the seed company could even give the seeds for free.

So the business strategy is very similar to how the printer companies like HP can actually afford to give the printers free, because the actual money comes from the printer cartridge sale.

The main difference is that seeds are much more important for a country’s economy, especially for a country like India with a large base of farmers who depend completely on agricultural income. It is also believed that most domestic seed companies in India are controlled or influenced by the multinational seed company.

A company like Monsanto is just doing its business. They have made investments in R&D and want profits like any other business. The solution lies in having more educated farmers who can make informed decisions about when to use Genetically Engineered/Modified Seeds and when to stick to organic seeds.