THIRD WORLD NETWORK BIOSAFETY INFORMATION SERVICE
Dear Friends and Colleagues
Bt Cotton in India Falls Short from Socio-Economic and Agroecological Perspectives
The native Asiatic cotton, Gossypium arboreum L., has been grown in India for more than 5,000 years without synthetic inputs. Genetically engineered Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) G. hirsutum cotton, made resistant to lepidopteran pests, was introduced in India in 2002 and by 2012, more than 1,128 Bt hybrid varieties were planted on 92% of the cotton area, displacing much of G. arboreum L.
A recent study has compared the economic impacts of both varieties under rainfed conditions in 51 smallholder farms in the state of Maharashtra. The study found that farmers cultivating Bt G. hirsutum spent more money on seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and harvesting than farmers cultivating G. arboreum, which is resistant to several lepidopteran as well as non-lepidopteran pests. G. arboreum farmers could generate similar net revenues and economic benefits as their Bt G. hirsutum counterparts. The study also compared the economic impacts of growing Bt G. hirsutum under rainfed and irrigated conditions. Even though the latter produced higher yields, this did not translate into higher net revenue for the farmers because of the costs of irrigation.
A second study assessed the effects of weather on cotton yield and risk by addressing three questions: (1) Is Bt cotton in irrigated and rainfed areas needed to solve pest problems? (2) Does it give economic benefits? and (3) Is its adoption linked to increases in farmer suicides?
The research report explains how the introduction of insecticides caused a major resurgence of the pink (cotton) bollworm (PBW), which had been only a minor pest in India hitherto, and how Bt cotton was introduced to solve this problem. Ironically, despite near complete adoption of Bt cotton in India, insecticide use was higher in 2013 than in 2000, this time targeting hemipteran insect pest outbreaks.
The study found that yields in rainfed cotton were dependent on the timing, distribution, and quantity of the monsoon rains. The PBW caused chronic damage in irrigated cotton, but not in rainfed cotton unless infested from irrigated fields. Although Bt cotton was economically viable in high-yield irrigated areas, it was not so in low-yield rainfed areas where the high costs of seeds and insecticides increased the risks of farmer bankruptcy and suicide. Annual suicides rates in the rainfed areas of south-central India were found to be inversely related to farm size and yields and directly related to increased adoption of Bt cotton, because of the combined high costs of Bt seed and insecticide. The researchers conclude that inability to use saved seed and inadequate agronomic information have trapped cotton farmers on biotechnology and insecticide treadmills.
The study recommends short-season high-density cotton as a viable solution for better yields and lower costs in both irrigated and rainfed cotton reducing the need for the Bt technology. This would promote the development of diversified and sustainable, including organic, agriculture.
Both studies underscore how important it is for policy-makers to make a holistic analysis incorporating socio-economic data with agro-ecological data when planning strategies to improve cotton farming in India. The abstracts of both research reports are given below.
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Item 1
ASIATIC COTTON CAN GENERATE SIMILAR ECONOMIC BENEFITS TO BT COTTON UNDER RAINFED CONDITIONS
Romeu-Dalmau, C., Bonsall, M. B., Willis, K. J., & Dolan, L. (2015). Nature Plants, 1(6).
http://www.nature.com/articles/nplants201572
Abstract
American cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), transformed with Bacillus thuringiensis Cry genes (Bt G. hirsutum) that confer resistance to lepidopteran pests, is extensively cultivated worldwide. In India, transgenic Bt G. hirsutum was commercially released in 2002 and by 2014 95% of farmers had adopted Bt G. hirsutum. The economic benefits of Bt G. hirsutum over non-Bt G. hirsutum are well documented and include increase in yields, increase in farmers’ net revenue and reduction in pesticide application against lepidopteran pests. However, it is unclear to what extent irrigation influences the performance of Bt G. hirsutum on smallholder farming in India, and if, in the absence of irrigation, growing Bt G. hirsutum provides greater economic benefits for Indian smallholder farmers compared with growing the Asiatic cotton Gossypium arboreum L. Here, we compare the economic impact of growing Bt G. hirsutum with growing G. arboreum under rainfed conditions in the Indian state of Maharashtra, and show that G. arboreum can generate similar net revenue, and thus similar economic benefits for smallholder farmers compared with growing Bt G. hirsutum. We also compare the economic impact of growing Bt G. hirsutum under rainfed conditions with growing Bt G. hirsutum under irrigated conditions and show that even though Bt G. hirsutum yields increase with irrigation, the net revenue does not significantly increase because farmers using irrigation spend significantly more than farmers growing Bt G. hirsutum without irrigation. We conclude that our data provide a broader insight into how socio-economic data needs to be incorporated into agro-ecological data when planning strategies to improve cotton farming in India.
Item 2
DECONSTRUCTING INDIAN COTTON: WEATHER, YIELDS, AND SUICIDES
Andrew Paul Gutierrez, Luigi Ponti, Hans R Herren, Johann Baumgärtner and Peter E Kenmore
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186%2Fs12302-015-0043-8#page-1
Background: Cotton with coevolving pests has been grown in India more than 5000 years. Hybrid cotton was introduced in the 1970s with increases in fertilizer and in insecticide use against pink bollworm that caused outbreaks of bollworm. Hybrid Bt cotton, introduced in 2002 to control bollworm and other lepidopteran pests, is grown on more than 90 % of the cotton area. Despite initial declines, year 2013 insecticide use is at 2000 levels, yields plateaued nationally, and farmer suicides increased in some areas. Biological modeling of the pre-1970s cotton/pink bollworm system was used to examine the need for Bt cotton, conditions for its economic viability, and linkage to farmer suicides.
Results: Yields in rainfed cotton depend on timing, distribution, and quantity of monsoon rains. Pink bollworm causes damage in irrigated cotton, but not in rainfed cotton unless infested from irrigated fields. Use of Bt cotton seed and insecticide in rainfed cotton is questionable.
Conclusions: Bt cotton may be economic in irrigated cotton, whereas costs of Bt seed and insecticide increase the risk of farmer bankruptcy in low-yield rainfed cotton. Inability to use saved seed and inadequate agronomic information trap cotton farmers on biotechnology and insecticide treadmills. Annual suicide rates in rainfed areas are inversely related to farm size and yield, and directly related to increases in Bt cotton adoption (i.e., costs). High-density short-season cottons could increase yields and reduce input costs in irrigated and rainfed cotton. Policy makers need holistic analysis before new technologies are implemented in agricultural development.