Environmental Benefits of Bt-Cotton Farming: A Case Study

Insect-protected crops like Bacillus thuriegiensis (Bt) cotton are bringing cotton growers new alternatives to broad-spectrum insecticide use in integrated pest management (IPM). The paper analyzes the effect of insect-resistant Bt-cotton farming on pesticide usage and agricultural productivity. To analyze the environmental benefits, and to determine whether the benefits are directly (prime) or indirectly (secondary) related to the growing Bt cotton, a study has been conducted during the year 2009-10 in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, a leading southern state of Bt-cotton farming in India. The secondary data such as current literature, conference proceedings, governmental and institutional reports market research etc. , were used for the comparative analysis. Ex-post facto research design was used in the present study. The purposive and random sampling methods were adopted for the present investigation. A pre tested and well designed questionnaire was used and personal interview schedule was planned accordingly. The results of Bt-Cotton farming survey revealed that the reduction of application rates of toxic chemicals, decrease of pesticide sprayings to 9.83 percentages compared to sprays in non Bt-cotton farming. The average number of sprays on Bt-Cotton is only 4.36 percentages as the seed is Genetically Modified. Thus, promoting a more widespread diffusion of Bt cotton could amplify the efficiency, and environmental gains. The statistical analsysis established the correlation between the reductions of sprays of pesticides compared to the non-Bt cotton growers. The results also showed significant relation of environmental benefits with the decrease of usage of pollutants that are hazardous to the environment. It is concluded that the technologys sustainability to be monitored using surveillance and monitoring programmes for long term and to assess the scope of occurrences of secondary effects.