Bangkok--Nov 30--Aziam Burson-Marsteller
SIMILAR BENEFITS COULD EXIST FOR THAI COTTON FARMERS
A recently published, peer-reviewed article concluded that Indian growers had significantly higher yields and greater profits from Bt cotton compared with non Bt cotton. The study was based on a survey of farmers who planted Bt cotton commercially in 2002 and 2003.
The study was titled "Economic Impact of Genetically Modified Cotton in
India" and was published in the AgBioForum journal in 2004.
Previous studies have analyzed Bt cotton data from seed company field
trials and reported significant yield increases (up to 80%) and significant
reductions in insecticide use (33%). However, these results were criticized by some who argued that field trial data did not adequately represent conditions on Indian farms and the benefits were overstated. The results of this new study are based on data collected from a large sample of farmers who grew Bt and non Bt cotton under commercial conditions.
2709 farmers were sampled in 2002 and 787 were sampled in 2003 in
Maharashtra state, covering 1275 villages in three cotton growing regions.
These market based survey results more accurately reflect the agronomic and economic conditions faced by Indian cotton growers. In nearly all cases,
farmers grew both Bt cotton and non Bt cotton varieties on the same farm
which allowed for meaningful comparisons and eliminated some the variability associated with comparing different farms and different farm practices.
The results from this study were very consistent, and they confirmed the
findings of the earlier studies. The authors reported that Bt cotton yields were 45% higher in 2002 and 63% higher in 2003 compared with non Bt cotton. This translated into significantly higher profits for Bt cotton growers ? 49% higher in 2002 and 74% in 2003. The authors further reported that growers used 72% fewer bollworm sprays in 2002 and 83% fewer sprays in 2003, compared with non Bt cotton varieties.
"We are confident that Thai farmers would welcome the same opportunity to
diversify their crop base, improve yields and productivity with technologies that have been intensively studied, tested and demonstrated to be safe in more countries every year," said Khun Kongtat Janchai, Government and Public Affairs Lead at Monsanto Thailand Limited.
It is important to note that this study was based on data from the first
two years of launch when cotton hybrid availability was limited, bollworm pressure was lower than normal and Indian growers were still gaining familiarity with the crop. At the time of this study, three Mahyco Bt cotton hybrids were available (MECH-162 Bt, MECH ? 184 Bt, and MECH -12 Bt). It is likely that these benefits will be sustained and possibly increased over time as more hybrids are available, insect pressure returns to normal and growers become familiar with this crop.
"In addition to the economic and productivity benefits, production of Bt
cotton leads to a decrease of as much as 50% in the number of insecticide
sprays per season which results in reduced insecticide residues that could
run off into watersheds," added Khun Kongtat.
IMPACT 2002 2002 2002 2003 2003 2003
Bt Non Bt Change Bt Non Bt Change
YIELD1 0.34 0.23 + 45 % * 0.35 0.22 + 63 % *
PROFIT2 $6,055 $4,059 + 49 % * $7,945 $4,570 + 74 % *
SPRAYS3 0.22 0.60 - 63 % * 0.11 0.49 - 77 % *
Cotton yield in tones/rai
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