india’s Bt cotton dream is going terribly wrong.
For the first time, farmer suicides, including those in 2011-12, have
been linked to the declining performance of the much hyped genetically
modified (GM) variety adopted by 90% of the country’s cotton-growers
since being allowed a decade
ago.
Policymakers have hailed Bt cotton as a success story but a January 9
internal advisory, a copy of which is with HT, sent out to
cotton-growing states by the agriculture ministry presents a grim
scenario.
“Cotton farmers are in a deep crisis since shifting to Bt cotton. The spate of farmer suicides in 2011-12 has been particularly severe among Bt cotton farmers,” says the advisory.
Bt cotton’s success, it appears, lasted merely five years. Since then, yields have been falling and pest attacks going up. India’s only GM crop has been genetically altered to destroy cotton-eating pests.
“Cotton farmers are in a deep crisis since shifting to Bt cotton. The spate of farmer suicides in 2011-12 has been particularly severe among Bt cotton farmers,” says the advisory.
Bt cotton’s success, it appears, lasted merely five years. Since then, yields have been falling and pest attacks going up. India’s only GM crop has been genetically altered to destroy cotton-eating pests.
