The Twisted Trajectory of Bt Cotton

Context: Despite finding huge favour in India, the Genetically Modified (GM) cotton has only brought modest benefits.

History of cotton

• The era of “desi cotton”:

• Cotton fabric from around 3,000 BCE has been excavated from the ruins of Mohenjodaro.
• Indian cotton exported to many places, including Greece, Rome, Persia, Egypt, Assyria and parts of Asia.
• Until the 20th century, the indigenous ‘desi’ variety, Gossypium arboretum was cultivated

• Introduction of Hybrid Variety: From the 1990s, hybrid varieties of G. hirsutum were promoted: 

• It cannot resist a variety of local pests and require more fertilizers and pesticides.

• Cotton suffered from plenty of infestations from moth pests such as:

• Pink Bull Worm (PBW).

• Sap sucking pests such as aphids and mealybugs.

• Introduction of Bt Cotton: in 2002 on the backdrop of the following challenges

• Rise of the minor pests in the past: like American and Pink Bull Worm leading to the growing use of fertilizers and pesticides
• Rising debts and reducing yields for the farmers
• Increasing insect resistance
• Less Pesticide use and increased yields: Presence of Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt) as a pesticide, ought to protect the plant from bollworm, thereby increasing yields and reducing insecticide spraying.

• According to the Ministry of Agriculture, from 2005, adoption of Bt cotton rose to 81% in 2007, and up to 93% in 2011. 

Issues with the use of Bt Cotton: According to a study published in the Nature magazine

• Inaccurate data on yield: Contribution of Bt cotton to yield increase was only about 4% each year.

• Inflated yield data was mainly due to illegal cotton planting.

• Discrepancies between yield and the deployment of Bt cotton

• Bt acreage was only 3.4% of the total cotton area in 2003, not sufficient to credit it for the 61% increase in yield in 2003-2004. 
• With only 15.7% Bt cotton coverage by 2005, yield increases were over 90% over 2002 levels. 

• Yield Stagnation: Countrywide yields stagnated after 2007 even as more farmers began to grow Bt cotton

• For E.g. In Maharashtra, yields climbed in the decade after 2000, with no change in the rate of increase when Bt cotton was introduced.

• Rise in expenditure on Insecticide: While the total insecticide expenditure per hectare reduced in 2006, it is again on the rise due to:

• Increased PBW resistance.
• Rising acreage under Bt cotton cultivation: and thus spending for spraying for sucking pests also went up. 

• Neglect of other reasons for increasing cotton yields: due to strong fervour towards Bt cotton.

• Improvement in irrigation facilities.

• Correlation between Fertilizer use and increased yields:

• • • Gross fertilizer use for cotton more than doubled from 2007-2013; the average rose from 98 kg/ha in 2003 to 224 kg/ha in 2013.

• Real-world challenges:  A technology that works in the lab may fail in fields since real-world success hinges on multiple factors, 

• Low global ranking in cotton production: India’s global rank for cotton production is 36 despite heavy fertilizer use, irrigation, chemicals and Bt cotton usage

Way Forward:

• Promote Desi Varieties:   

• Government backing for resources, infrastructure and seeds are essential to scale up ‘desi’ varieties.

• With pure-line cotton varieties, high-density planting, and short-season plants, cotton yields in India can be good and stand a better chance at withstanding the vagaries of climate change. 

Conclusion: It is time to pay attention to science and acknowledge that Bt cotton has failed in India, and not enter into further misadventures with other Bt crops such as brinjal or herbicide resistance.