Textiles and Clothing in India
Cotton Farmers and Bt Cotton
How cotton farming works in India, how Bt cotton changed yields, and the problems of pink bollworm, prices and rain-dependence.
Millions of Indian farmers, especially in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana, grow cotton.
Bt cotton
In 2002, India approved Bt cotton, genetically modified to resist the bollworm pest.
- Adoption spread rapidly, covering most of India’s cotton area.
- Yields and production rose in the following years, and India became a major cotton exporter.
Later problems
- Pink bollworm developed resistance to Bt cotton.
- Yields stagnated, and India’s cotton yields remain below the world average.
- Seed costs and pesticide use rose again.
Rain and risk
Much cotton is rain-fed. A poor monsoon can ruin a crop, and debts for seeds and inputs can push farmers into distress.
Prices
- The Cotton Corporation of India buys at the minimum support price (MSP) when market prices fall below it.
- Global cotton prices affect Indian farmers’ earnings.
Improving yields
- High-density planting.
- Better seed varieties, including newer GM traits.
- Irrigation and extension services.
A farmer in Vidarbha borrows to buy seeds and fertiliser for cotton. If the monsoon is good and prices hold, he repays the loan. If rain fails or pink bollworm strikes, he faces debt.
Pink bollworm developed resistance, and yields stagnated.
- Many Indian farmers grow cotton, often rain-fed.
- Bt cotton (2002) raised yields and production.
- Pink bollworm resistance and stagnant yields are problems.
- MSP purchases and better seeds aim to support farmers.
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