Bt Used in 90 Percent of Cotton Acreage in India

By Jim.Robinson|September 2, 2010

Although there remains a small but vocal opposition to the use of genetically modified crops in India, more than 90 percent of the nation’s current cotton crop is planted using Bt seeds. Overall cotton acreage has grown more than 1.2 million hectares since 2008, from 9.8 million hectares to 11 million, due in no small part to growers shifting their crop mix once Bt seeds enabled them to greatly increase their yields from cotton.

Sources at India’s Ministry of Textiles estimate that in 2008, Bt cotton provided India with about US$8.6 billion in “additional value” — a combination of export revenues, savings from reduced imports, government technology tax revenues, and savings to local ginneries and textile companies. Roughly half of that additional value went directly to growers in the form of increased yields.

Despite the rapid and widespread adoption of Bt cotton, however, experts say that the genetically modified seeds will never reach 100 percent penetration in India because of the small groups that remain ideologically opposed to their use.

Total cotton output for India should exceed 32.5 million bales (170 kg each) this year, an increase of 10% over the 29.5 million bales produced the year before.