Planting the future: opportunities and challenges for using ... - EASAC

It has been suggested that corrective policies for food
production and suitable R&D policies to improve existing
technologies need to be implemented as well as adoption
of good agricultural practices (i.e. farm zoning, use of
non-chemical weed control methods, crop rotations and
nutrient replacement) (Behrens et al., 2007). The need for
strategies to provide long-term sustainable productivity
has also been suggested (Powles, 2008). The EASAC
view and that of many other expert groups is that these
challenges are not in any way unique to deployment
of GM crops; they apply to crop production systems
using conventional varieties and essentially relate to the
problems associated with crop monocultures as well as
the sole reliance on crop protection compounds (such as
specific herbicides) with a single mode of action.
2.3.2 Socio-economic impact of Bt cotton in India
The only GM crop that India has commercialised is
Bt cotton, first officially approved in 2002 after the
completion of comprehensive safety studies 13 . Since 2007
(when it overtook the USA), India has been the country
with the greatest area of cotton cultivation (12 million
hectares). India is also the second greatest producer of
cotton lint in the world (FAOSTATS, http://faostat.fao.org/
site/339/default.aspx). Production of cotton lint in India
more than tripled between 2002 and 2010. In 2012 the
area under GM cotton was 10.8 million hectares (James,
2012).
Scientific studies assessing the performance of Bt cotton
in India report overall a positive effect of the technology.
An analysis of a dataset collected between 2002 and
2008 shows that the use of Bt cotton has resulted in a
24% increase in cotton yield per acre through reduced
pest damage and a 50% gain in cotton profit among
smallholders (Kathage and Qaim, 2012). The study
concludes that Bt cotton has delivered sustainable
benefits and contributes to positive economic and social
development in India (Kathage and Qaim, 2012). Bt
cotton is reported to have contributed 19% of total
yield growth in nine Indian cotton-producing states
from 1975 to 2009 (the use of fertilisers and of hybrid
seeds being other significant variables; Gruère and Sun,
2012). In addition, Bt cotton also provides farmers with
indirect economic benefits, such as time and labour
savings resulting from the reduced number of pesticide
applications required. The time saved can be devoted to
other income-generating activities (Subramanian and
Qaim, 2009).
The positive performance of Bt cotton was confirmed
by a meta-analysis of the economic and agronomic
performance of GM crops worldwide using a variety
of approaches (Areal et al, 2013). Bt cotton was found
to be the most profitable crop followed by Bt maize
(Areal et al., 2013). GM crops performed best in
developing countries, probably because of the lack of
alternative efficient and affordable pest management
practices (Brookes and Barfoot, 2009, 2012; Carpenter,
2010, 2011; Finger et al., 2011; Areal et al., 2013).
The environmental and human health benefits
from adopting Bt cotton have also been extensively
documented. These are mostly a function of the
decreased use of chemical pesticides required during
cotton production (Kouser and Qaim, 2011; Stone, 2011;
Krishna and Qaim, 2012).
Nonetheless, despite the nearly universal adoption of
the Bt cotton in India and the growing body of scientific
evidence in support of the technology, the success of
Bt cotton in India continues to be a highly controversial
topic (Herring, 2006, 2008a, b; Stone, 2011; Herring and
Rao, 2012). Much of this controversy revolves around
ethical arguments that form part of a global polemic
on use of GM crops in food production. Concerns cited
include control by multinationals of the agricultural
sector and fears over human health and the environment.
Opposition has largely been driven by a coalition of
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) connected to
international advocacy organisations (Herring 2006,
2008a, b).
Among other allegations, Bt cotton is linked to
widespread agronomic and crop failures and of being
the main reason for a resurgence of farmers’ suicides in
India. Farmers’ suicides in India are a serious problem that
pre-dates the adoption of Bt cotton. A study exploring
the link between the cultivation of Bt cotton and farmers’
suicides established lack of supporting evidence for a
resurgence of suicides linked to the adoption of Bt cotton
(Gruère et al., 2008). The authors note, however, that the
performance of Bt cotton, although positive on average,
varied in different locations and seasons. Crop failures
were considered a consequence of unfavourable climatic
conditions, and these failures were compounded by low
market prices for cotton, inappropriate farming practices,
misinformation about the new technology and the
widespread use of early Bt varieties that were not adapted
for all locations and farming practices (Gruère et al., 2008,
2010). Institutional problems, such as weak agricultural
extension services, lack of irrigation in drought-prone
areas, the absence or failure of agricultural credit and
financing systems, and the high prevalence of adulterated
and fake seeds and inputs further exacerbated the
situation. Because there are reports attesting to the
beneficial effects of cultivating Bt cotton and the fact that
the factors determining farmers’ suicides have existed
before the introduction of Bt cotton, the proof linking
the two remains weak and controversial (Gruere and
Sun, 2012).
13
http://www.envfor.nic.in/divisions/csurv/geac/bgnote.pdf.
EASAC Planting the future | June 2013 | 13