Economic and Environmental Impact of Bt Cotton in India

India is the largest cotton cultivating country in terms of acreage and second largest in terms of production in the world. India accounts for 34 per cent of the cotton area and 20 per cent of the cotton production in the world. But India ranks only 46th in terms of productivity with a yield of about one tonne per hectare (FAO, 2011). The yield of cotton is one of the lowest among the leading cotton producing countries in the world. The other major cotton producing countries in the world are China, USA and Pakistan. In India there are about nine mega cotton growing states with more than one lakh hectare area under cotton in 2008-09. Of the total cotton area, two states, Maharashtra and Gujarat, alone account for nearly 58 per cent of the cotton area in the country. In terms of production Gujarat alone accounts for nearly 32 per cent of the cotton production in the country though it has only 25 per cent of the cotton area. It is because of high productivity of cotton in Gujarat. Gujarat ranks third in terms of productivity in the country after Punjab and Haryana. On the other hand, Maharashtra with 33 per cent of the area accounts only for 21 per cent of the cotton production because of low productivity. The productivity of Maharashtra is one of the lowest in the country. Tamil Nadu has a comparatively lower share in production but ranks fourth in terms of productivity in India. Cotton is predominantly grown as a rainfed crop in India. About 64 per cent of the cotton crop in the country is grown without irrigation. The extent of irrigation varies widely across states, with Punjab growing the entire cotton crop under irrigation and Maharashtra growing nearly 95 per cent of the crop under rainfed condition. At the all India level only 36 per cent of the cotton crop is irrigated.