Development and Adoption of Bt Cotton in India : Economic, Environmental and Health Issues

-, Dr S Saravanan and -, Dr V Mohanasundaram (2016): Development and Adoption of Bt Cotton in India : Economic, Environmental and Health Issues.

Abstract

Bt Cotton, is genetically engineered with Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), a bio-toxin which comes from soil bacterium. Bt which was isolated from soil in 1911, has been available to farmers as an organic pesticide since 1930..The engineered Bt gene produces a protein that cuts into the guts of specific insects, rendering the cotton resistant to these insects. Biotechnology for control of bollworms is made available in the seed itself. Farmers have to just sow the Bt cotton seeds as they do with conventional seeds. The resulting plants have the in-built ability to produce Bt protein within their body and defend themselves from bollworms. No extra efforts or equipment are needed to utilize this technology. But after the introduction of Bt cotton it brought into focus a variety of issues like economic, environmental and health and it has a controversy against to adopt it. Hence, the present study focused on the above issues.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Bt Cotton, Environment, Health, Economic
• Subjects: Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q1 - Agriculture > Q16 - R&D ; Agricultural Technology ; Biofuels ; Agricultural Extension Services

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