Rebirth of Indian Cotton

What is the issue?

Indian farmers started to return towards the traditional cotton cultivation from the Bt-cotton.

What is the reason for the return?

Bt-cotton’s gradual lost resistance against the devastating bollworm insects.
It has failed to resist new pests like whiteflies.
Indian cotton, can withstand most of these pests, besides some common diseases.
Technology developers and seed companies have failed to diversify pest-repellent traits in BT-cotton.
Farmers cannot follow the recommended precautions in cultivating Bt-cotton.

What are the advantages of Indian cotton over Bt-Cotton?

It has evolved indigenously and better acclimatised to local agro-ecological conditions
It needs lower amounts of inputs like fertilisers and pesticides and is, on the whole, less costly to cultivate.
It is early maturing and can be harvested before pests like bollworms and whiteflies become active.
It is amenable to closer planting to accommodate more plants in a field, it is an easy way to raise crop yields and net profits.
Due to the small staple length and absorbent nature of its fibre, it is in demand for surgical and medical use.

What are the other issues in Indian cotton cultivation?

There is no diversity in the cotton cultivation carried out in India.
Lack of diversity has led to the development of immunity among pests.
The GM cotton occupying nearly 95 per cent of the crop area.
Seed approval protocols discouraged public sector research bodies from entering this field.
With respective to this few companies are becoming the monopoly in the selling the seeds.

Source: Business Standard