The Hindu Business Line : No gains from Bt cotton, say farmers

THE cotton farmers of Vanjara village in Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh used to keenly observe the cotton crop of E. Raghavulu. They even patted him for taking the right decision of cultivating Bt cotton. But not so any more.

Mr Raghavulu said that the crop was good up to 80 days. There was no major pest attack till then. However, the problems started thereafter. The crop was attacked by bollworms. The plants growth was stunted and the yields dwindled.

Mr Raghavulu had decided to cultivate Bollgard or Bt cottonseed produced by Mahyco-Monsanto in his fields after watching a programme in a local television channel, which stated that the area under Bt cotton was increasing in America and China. Today, he feels that he has done a big mistake.

Narrating his experience, he said that he could harvest only 13 quintals from 3 acres of Bt cotton he had cultivated last year while the yield from his non-Bt cotton fields was over 9 quintals per acre. "The expenditure I incurred on both Bt and non Bt-cotton crop was almost the same around Rs 6,000 per acre but the yields were different. I would have earned much more if I had cultivated non-Bt cotton in my entire five acres of land", he said.

The experience of Mr Afzal of Cheetur village was no different. He and another farmer in the village, Mr N. Mallaiah, had cultivated Bt cotton and both have incurred losses. Mr Afzal could realise a yield of just 2.5 quintals per acre from his Bt cotton crop where as the production from his non-Bt cotton crop was over 7 quintals per acre. Bollworms attacked the Bt cotton crop after 100 days of its cultivation.

In fact, the study reports released by two different organisations revealed that Bt cotton farmers in Andhra Pradesh have suffered heavy losses. The report released by the Andhra Pradesh Coalition in Defence of Diversity (APCD) stated that Bt farmers in Warangal district suffered a net loss of Rs 1,295 per acre, while non-Bt farmers had accrued a net profit of Rs 5,400 per acre. Another report, released by the Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangham, stated that 90 per cent of the Bt cotton farmers in Adilabad, Guntur, Rangareddy and Warangal districts suffered losses.

According to APCD Convenor, Mr P.V. Sateesh, a season long impact study of Bt cotton in Warangal district last year by two agricultural scientists, Dr Abdul Qayum and Mr Kiran Sakkari, has revealed that the cost of cultivation of Bt cotton was Rs 1,092 more per acre than that of non-Bt cotton while the average yield of Bt farmers was 2.4 quintals less than that of non-Bt farmers.

The market price of Bt cotton was around Rs 2,080 a quintal, roughly Rs 100 less than the price of non-Bt hybrids. On the whole, 71 per cent of the Bt farmers in the district reported losses.

Stating that the study covered 20 per cent of all the farmers who planted Bt cotton in the district, Mr Sateesh said that the report underlined that there was no significant reduction in the pesticide use on Bt cotton. It pointed out that Bt farmers used only 10 per cent less pesticides in comparison to non-Bt farmers. At the same time, the cost of cultivation of Bt farmers went up by 10 per cent while the yield was 35 per cent less than that of non-Bt cotton crop.

When contacted, Monsanto India denied the claims of the farmers. Ms Ranjana Smetacek, Director - Public Affairs, told Business Line that Bt cotton farmers had actually realised more than 30 per cent increase in yield over non-Bollgard farmers, and thus, earned an additional Rs 6,500 per acre.

"Monsanto findings are based on details from 1090 farmers spread across 55 cotton districts in the country," she said.

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