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Are there Benefits from the Cultivation of Bt Cotton? A Comment Based on Data from a Vidarbha Village

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  • Swaminathan, Madhura
  • Rawal, Vikas

Abstract

This note examines costs and returns from the cultivation of different types of cotton in a rainfed village in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, India. While the pros and cons of GM cotton are extensively debated, there are only a few empirical studies on the economic performance of Bt cotton, particularly under rainfed conditions. The results from a detailed survey of farm business incomes show that Bt cotton was a clear leader in terms of production and gross value of output when grown as a stand-alone crop. However, on the fields of small and marginal farmers, where cotton was usually intercropped with sorghum (or other cereals and pulses), the relative income advantage of Bt cotton declined. Further, expenditure on chemical pesticides was higher for Bt cotton than for other varieties of cotton. Variability in production was also higher for Bt cotton than for other types of cotton.
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Suggested Citation

  • Swaminathan, Madhura & Rawal, Vikas, 2011. "Are there Benefits from the Cultivation of Bt Cotton? A Comment Based on Data from a Vidarbha Village," Review of Agrarian Studies, Foundation for Agrarian Studies, vol. 1(1), July.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:ragrar:308570
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.308570
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Qaim, Matin, 2003. "Bt Cotton in India: Field Trial Results and Economic Projections," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(12), pages 2115-2127, December.
    2. Matin Qaim & Arjunan Subramanian & Gopal Naik & David Zilberman, 2006. "Adoption of Bt Cotton and Impact Variability: Insights from India," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 28(1), pages 48-58.
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    6. Subramanian, Arjunan & Qaim, Matin, 2009. "Village-wide Effects of Agricultural Biotechnology: The Case of Bt Cotton in India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 256-267, January.
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    9. Richard Bennett & Uma Kambhampati & Stephen Morse & Yousouf Ismael, 2006. "Farm-Level Economic Performance of Genetically Modified Cotton in Maharashtra, India," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 28(1), pages 59-71.
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    Cited by:

    1. Nagarajan, Aravindhan, 2018. "The Development of Transgenic Crop Technologies in India: Past Experiences and Future Prospects," Review of Agrarian Studies, Foundation for Agrarian Studies, vol. 8(2), December.
    2. Sarthak Gaurav & Srijit Mishra, 2012. "To Bt or not to Bt? Risk and uncertainty considerations in technology assessment," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2012-001, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
    3. Ramakumar, R. & Raut, Karan & Kamble, Tushar, 2017. "Moving Out of Cotton: Notes from a Longitudinal Survey in Two Vidarbha Villages," Review of Agrarian Studies, Foundation for Agrarian Studies, vol. 7(1), July.
    4. Damien Bazin & Naceur Khraief, 2020. "La technologie Bt est-elle sans risque pour le paysan indien ?," GREDEG Working Papers 2020-48, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France.

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