Surinder Sud: The rise of Bt-cotton

FARM VIEW

Spectacular yields have made this much protested cotton hybrid a farmer's delight.

The transgenic Bt-cotton evoked protests from environment activists when it was approved for commercial cultivation in 2002. They resorted to burning several Bt-cotton fields and even sought to link it up with farmers' suicides which happened to preponderate among cotton growers in several states, including those for which this gene-altered cotton hybrid was recommended for cultivation to begin with. But this hostility has now ebbed. This is not because environmentalists have run out of steam, but because the performance of Bt-cotton, and the response of the farmers to it has been spectacular.

No wonder then that, beginning with just three Bt-cotton hybrids, nearly 140 such transgenic hybrids are now being grown in almost all parts of the country. The area under such crops has grown in past six years by around 11 per cent annually to cover over 60 per cent of the total cotton acreage in the last kharif season.

Bt-cotton varieties are essentially the hybrids in which the genetic structure of the plants has been modified by incorporating an alien gene taken from Bt (Bacillus thuriengensis), a common soil bacteria, to render them poisonous for the most prevalent, and also the most harmful, American boll worm pest. This lends the plants an in-built resistance against this pest, reducing the need for spraying costly pesticides. Cotton is one of the most pest-prone commercial crops and accounts for nearly 50 per cent of the total pesticides consumed in the country.

The advantages of growing Bt-cotton vis-à-vis the non-Bt cotton hybrids and traditionally-bred varieties, have now been borne out by a systematic study carried out by the Hyderabad-based Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS). It has concluded that the Bt-cotton technology is superior to the conventional cotton hybrids in terms of both yield and net returns despite relatively higher production costs. The details of the study have been published in a monograph titled "Socioeconomic Impact of Bt Cotton" authored by CESS director S Mahendra Dev and its fellow-cum-associate professor N Chandrasekhara Rao.

Indeed, the findings of the study are quite revealing. Though the expenditure on pesticides sprays turned out to be 17 per cent lower in Bt-cotton fields, the overall cost of production was up by 18 per cent as compared to that of non-Bt cotton. The high cost of seed was among the factors responsible for the higher total expenses on Bt-cotton cultivation. But what set the Bt-cotton apart was the 32 per cent excess yield which brought the per quintal cost of cotton production down by significant 11 per cent, or Rs 223 per quintal, leading ultimately to relatively higher net returns.

The farm business income from Bt-cotton, as measured by the difference between the gross income and the paid-up costs, came to Rs 5,166 per acre (roughly Rs 12,700 per hectare), 143 per cent higher than that from non-Bt cotton.

What is notable is that this study was conducted in 2004 when monsoon rains were either erratic or poor. The data was collected from four districts (Warangal, Nalgonda, Guntur and Kurnool) of Andhra Pradesh representing different agro-climatic conditions. The total monsoon rainfall in these tracts was about 33 per cent below normal in that year. Also notable is that the prices of cotton in 2004 were relatively low "" the average price realisation being Rs 1,739 a quintal, against the previous seven years' average price of Rs 2,000 a quintal. Of course, low prices prevailing in that year adversely affected the income from other cotton as well, preventing the farmers from recovering their total costs, including the imputed costs. But, then, these factors applied equally to both Bt and non-Bt cottons.

While the findings of this study should set at rest the controversy over the economic utility of Bt-cotton for the Indian farmers, these do not really quell all the environmental concerns, especially those concerning the feared emergence of tolerance among the boll worms to the Bt toxin. This is because the study has revealed that no more than 63 per cent of the Bt-cotton cultivators grew the desired refuge belts (rows of non-Bt cotton as an alternative host for American boll worm) in the cotton fields.

Though there is yet no conclusive evident to validate the development of Bt-resistance among pests for want of refuge, such concerns need definitely to be addressed to prevent this otherwise useful technology from falling flat.

surinder.sud@bsmail.in