Bt Cotton

USA

The economic advantages offered by Bt cotton have led to its rapid adoption in the United States, increasing from 730,000 hectares in its year of introduction (1996) to over 2 million hectares in 2001, equivalent to more than one-third of the total area of US cotton (James 2001b, Edge et al 2001). For 2001, the economic analysis indicates that Bt cotton provided farmers with an increase in net income of $50/hectare (Gianessi et al 2002), equivalent to a national gain of $103 million. With low infestations in 2001, the total cost of insect control was actually $5/hectare higher for Bt cotton when considering the insecticide costs and the cost of the technology fee, but a yield increase of 40 kg/hectare of lint far outweighed the increase in insect control costs, thus resulting in the net economic advantage of $50 per hectare. It is noteworthy that the gain of $50 per hectare in 2001 was realized despite the fact that cotton pest infestations in 2001 were one of the lowest in recent years. The corresponding gain in 1998, when insect infestation was significantly higher, resulted in a higher gain of $84 per hectare (Carpenter and Gianessi 2001).

Yield gains from growing Bt cotton have also been confirmed by replicated, field trials across multiple regions of the US (Carpenter et al 2002, Marra et al 2002, Fernandez-Cornejo and McBride 2000) with an average yield gain of 10% or more (Perlak et al 2001). A number of studies have documented the reductions in the number of sprays needed for controlling lepidopteran pests when using Bt cotton (Carpenter et al 2002, Edge et al 2001). This reduction in sprays translates to additional secondary cost savings as the reduced number of spray trips allows farmers to capture savings on fuel, machinery and labor costs.

The overall economic benefits for Bt cotton farmers in the US in 1998, estimated at $84/hectare, were equivalent to a national benefit of $92 million. Similarly for 1999 the economic advantage of Bt cotton was $52/hectare for a national benefit of $99 million and for 2001 it was $50/hectare for a national benefit of $103 million (Gianessi et al 2002, Carpenter and Gianessi 2001). These estimates are of the same order of magnitude as EPA estimates for Bt cotton that range from $60 to $ 126 million annually. Other estimates of national benefits from Bt cotton in the US include those of Falck-Zepeda et al (1999) who estimated a national gain of $134 million in 1996 and $213 million in 1998. It is noteworthy that farmers were the major beneficiaries capturing 43-58% of the net benefits. In summary, the overall economic benefit for Bt cotton growers in the USA was estimated at $50/hectare to $85 /hectare, after deducting additional costs related to seed and insect protection, which translates to a minimum national gain of $100 million/year at current world prices of cotton.

Summary topics:

• Agronomic Benefits
• Environmental Benefits
  • Reduction in use of cotton insecticides
  • Less insecticides in aquifers and the environment
  • Farmer exposure to insecticide and health implications
  • Reduced production risks and enhanced opportunities to grow Bt cotton
  • Increased populations of beneficial insects
  • Reduced risk for wildlife
  • Reduced fuel and raw material consumption, and pollution
• Social benefits
  • Social implications of saving water by reducing number of insecticide sprays
• Economic benefits
  • China
  • India
  • Others
  • Distribution of economic surplus to Bt cotton stakeholders

Related topics:

• The cotton crop
• Global distribution of cotton in developing and industrial countries, by area, production, consumption, imports, and exports
• Number of cotton farmers worldwide and size of farms
• Insect pests of cotton
• Crop losses due to insect pests of cotton and the cost of control
• Global insecticide usage on cotton
• The use of Bt genes in cotton
• Assessment of environmental risk and Insect Resistance Management (IRM) strategies
• Global adoption of Bt cotton
• Bt cotton experience to date
• Summary: Agronomic, Environmental, Social and Economic Benefits
• Future global potential for Bt cotton: opportunities and challenges
• Highlights

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