According to a study by ICAR-CICR, farmers’ incomes have increased since Bt cotton was adopted nationwide because of the country’s higher yield of three to four quintals per acre and lower costs of insecticides used to combat the cotton bollworm, as informed to the Lok Sabha by Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Ramnath Thakur.
When appropriate agronomy is used, the current net return from Bt cotton is projected to be Rs 25,000 per hectare in rainfed areas. He continued, “Bt cotton is currently occupying more than 96% of the area under cotton cultivation due to the farmers’ rapid adoption of the crop.”
In 2012–13 and 2013–14, the Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR), Nagpur, part of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), carried out a study to assess the effects of Bt cotton in Maharashtra. A study on the effects of Bt cotton on soil ecology was also carried out by ICAR-CICR.
Throughout the survey period, there was a significant decrease in the frequency of bollworm infestation and a drop in the number of insecticide applications from eight to four. Furthermore, Bt cotton farming had no negative effects on soil ecological parameters, according to ICAR-CICR investigations.
The minister said, “The only genetically modified (GM) crop authorized for commercial cultivation in the nation in 2002 by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) of the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change is bt cotton.”
In 11 of the nation’s cotton-producing states, 129.27 lakh hectares of Bt cotton were planted in 2023–2024. 336.6 lakh bales of Bt cotton were produced overall in the year, with an estimated yield of 443 kg per hectare.
The largest area under Bt cotton cultivation was 41.82 lakh hectares in Maharashtra, followed by 24.84 lakh hectares in Gujarat, 19.73 lakh hectares in Telangana, and 9.49 lakh hectares in Karnataka.
According to the minister, there were 7,04 lakh hectares of Bt cotton planted in Andhra Pradesh in 202–23, with 4,73,345 farmers involved in the crop’s cultivation.
With 8.15 lakh hectares planted to Bt cotton, Rajasthan has the largest amount of the northern states covered by this crop. While Punjab had 2.49 lakh hectares planted with Bt cotton, neighboring Haryana dedicated 5.75 lakh million hectares to the crop.
Madhya Pradesh, located in the central area, was growing the crop; during 2022–2023, 5.95 lakh hectares of Bt cotton were sown.
