Interviews
Organic cotton more beneficial than BT Cotton
04 Apr '06
2 min read
A study conducted by the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture shows that benefits of organic cotton clearly outweigh those from Bt Cotton, whose Kharif cultivation cost in 2005 was higher by 67 percent and income was lower by at least 37 percent.
Total cultivation cost of Bt cotton per acre stood at Rs 8,366 whereas for organic cotton it was Rs 5,008.
Per acre cost of the use of pesticides in Bt cotton was 4.8 times more with expenditure at Rs 1629.
Net income per acre on Bt cotton was lower by 37 percent at Rs 3,551 compared to organic cotton, which stood at Rs 5,618.
But in gross income Bt cotton's average yield of 6.14 quintals as against 5.23 quintals was ahead of organic cotton.
The gross income of Bt cotton stood at Rs 11,918 but for organic cotton it was Rs 10,627.
The average market price per quintal for Bt cotton was Rs 1,941, while for organic cotton it was Rs 2,032.
The study was based on season-long fortnightly monitoring of 120 Bt cotton fields from five districts of Andhra Pradesh and 123 non pesticidal management (NPM)/organic cotton farmers from four districts.
Bt cotton does not confirm to the claims made by the marketing propaganda of its companies.
Bt cotton's performance was bad compared to non-Bt cotton, especially NPM/organic approaches to cotton cultivation, said G V Ramanjaneyulu, Executive Director, Centre for Sustainable Agriculture.
Risk factor involved in cultivating Bt cotton are high and often unpredictable, he said.
Total cultivation cost of Bt cotton per acre stood at Rs 8,366 whereas for organic cotton it was Rs 5,008.
Per acre cost of the use of pesticides in Bt cotton was 4.8 times more with expenditure at Rs 1629.
Net income per acre on Bt cotton was lower by 37 percent at Rs 3,551 compared to organic cotton, which stood at Rs 5,618.
But in gross income Bt cotton's average yield of 6.14 quintals as against 5.23 quintals was ahead of organic cotton.
The gross income of Bt cotton stood at Rs 11,918 but for organic cotton it was Rs 10,627.
The average market price per quintal for Bt cotton was Rs 1,941, while for organic cotton it was Rs 2,032.
The study was based on season-long fortnightly monitoring of 120 Bt cotton fields from five districts of Andhra Pradesh and 123 non pesticidal management (NPM)/organic cotton farmers from four districts.
Bt cotton does not confirm to the claims made by the marketing propaganda of its companies.
Bt cotton's performance was bad compared to non-Bt cotton, especially NPM/organic approaches to cotton cultivation, said G V Ramanjaneyulu, Executive Director, Centre for Sustainable Agriculture.
Risk factor involved in cultivating Bt cotton are high and often unpredictable, he said.
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