It may be noted that BioSpectrum was not a part to any of the findings and does not have any stand on the issue. Bt MECH 12, Bt MECH 162 and Bt MECH 184 were the three transgenic varieties approved by the regulator, GEAC and the period of validity of approval is three years from April 2002-March 2005. As of now, it is premature to give a verdict on the performance of Bt cotton in any part of India. Its performance can be judged only at the end of the validity period, when there would be adequate and reliable data to do so.

Gene Campaign report

The Gene Campaign report was compiled by Dr Suman Sahai and Shakeelur Rahman.

The study compared the performance of Bt to non-Bt cotton. It found that Bt cotton is not performing well and is in fact lagging behind the normal cotton in many respects. The study showed Bt cotton to be a shorter duration crop (90-100 days) than non-Bt cotton (100 to 120 days) but the plants showed less vigorous growth, with fewer branches and smaller leaves.

A major problem reported was the premature dropping of bolls in Bt cotton. A comparison of bolls and fibre showed that the number of bolls per plant was higher in the non-Bt cotton variety. Whereas the non-Bt variety averaged 95 bolls per plant, in the Bt variety the average was only
50 bolls.

Fibre length was also longer in the non-Bt varieties, which had better grade cotton. Non-Bt cotton was graded as A and B quality whereas Bt cotton was graded as B and C. Although both cotton types demonstrated a range of small to large bolls, more Bt cotton bolls were of a smaller size than the non-Bt cotton.

A significant finding of this study was the indication that Bt cotton variety does not offer protection against pink bollworm (Pectino-phora gossypiella). Pink bollworm attack was found to be severe after 60 to 70 days. There could be two possible reasons for this. The first could be that the period of expression of Bt endotoxin does not coincide with the time of the bollworm attack. This would mean that when the pest attacks the cotton, it is not expressing the endotoxin gene and therefore not offering any protection against the pest.

The other explanation could be that the pink bollworm is not susceptible to Bt endotoxin. The pink bollworm in India has probably developed resistance after being exposed to Bt toxin from the field trials that have been conducted during the past years and from the use of Bt pesticide sprays.

Economics of Bt cotton cultivation

The study stated that the economics of cultivating Bt cotton was not in favour of farmers. The seed being four times more expensive than the good local hybrids. The difference in the price of seed is approximately Rs 1200 per (450 gm) bag, which is needed to plant an acre.

As against this outlay, savings on pesticide were meagre, averaging Rs 217 per acre. Thus the investment per acre is much higher for Bt cotton than for non-Bt cotton varieties. The Bt cotton farmer had to invest on average, Rs 983 more per acre than his non-Bt counterpart.

And the average yield per acre of Bt cotton in all categories of landholdings—low, medium and high, was found to be poor when compared to its non-Bt counterpart. The result was that the net profit from Bt cotton was lower per acre compared to non-Bt cotton in all types of fields (low to high yielding).

The study pointed out that in fact, 60 percent of the farmers cultivating Bt cotton were not even able to recover their investment and incurred losses averaging Rs 79 per acre. The performance of Bt cotton in the areas studied in Maharshtra and Andhra Pradesh was poor and the farmers have had to suffer losses. Not surprisingly, an overwhelming majority of the farming families surveyed (98 percent) said they were not interested in growing Bt cotton again.

Next Page : Findings of C Kameshwar Rao