Y. Ismael

Can GM-technologies help the poor? The impact of Bt cotton in Makhathini Flats, KwaZulu-Natal

Abstract The results of a two-year survey of smallholders in Makhathini Flats, KwaZulu-Natal show that farmers who adopted Bt cotton in 1999–2000 benefited according to all the measures used. Higher yields and lower chemical costs outweighed higher seed costs, giving higher gross margins. These measures showed negative benefits in 1998–99, which conflicts with continued adoption, but stochastic efficiency frontier estimation, which takes account of the labor saved, showed that adopters averaged 88% efficiency, as compared with 66% for the nonadopters. In 1999–2000, when late rains lowered yields, the gap widened to 74% for adopters and 48% for nonadopters.

Bt cotton, pesticides, labour and health A case study of smallholder farmers in the Makhathini Flats, Republic of South Africa

This paper describes some of the results of a detailed farm-level survey of 32 small-scale cotton farmers in the Makhathini Flats region of South Africa. The aim was to assess and measure some of the impacts (especially in terms of savings in pesticide and labour as well as benefits to human health) attributable to the use of insect-tolerant Bt cotton. The study reveals a direct cost benefit for Bt growers of SAR416 (

The economic impact of genetically modified cotton on South African smallholders: Yield, profit and health effects

51) per hectare per season due to a reduction in the number of insecticide applications. Cost savings emerged in the form of lower requirements for pesticide, but also important were reduced requirements for water and labour. The reduction -in the number of sprays was particularly beneficial to women who do some spraying and children who collect water and assist in spraying. The increasing adoption rate of Bt cotton appears to have a health benefit measured in terms of reported rates of accidental insecticide poisoning. These appear to be declining as the uptake of Bt cotton increases. However, the understanding of refugia and their management by local farmers are deficient and need improving. Finally, Bt cotton growers emerge as more resilient in absorbing price fluctuations.

Reductions in insecticide use from adoption of Bt cotton in South Africa: impacts on economic performance and toxic load to the environment

Abstract Results of a large-scale survey of resource-poor smallholder cotton farmers in South Africa over three years conclusively show that adopters of Bt cotton have benefited in terms of higher yields, lower pesticide use, less labour for pesticide application and substantially higher gross margins per hectare. These benefits were clearly related to the technology, and not to preferential adoption by farmers who were already highly efficient. The smallest producers are shown to have benefited from adoption of the Bt variety as much as, if not more than, larger producers. Moreover, evidence from hospital records suggests a link between declining pesticide poisonings and adoption of the Bt variety.

Farm-Level Economic Impact of Biotechnology: Smallholder Bt Cotton Farmers in South Africa:

The study reported presents the findings relating to commercial growing of genetically-modified Bt cotton in South Africa by a large sample of smallholder farmers over three seasons (1998/99, 1999/2000, 2000/01) following adoption. The analysis presents constructs and compares groupwise differences for key variables in Bt v. non-Bt technology and uses regressions to further analyse the production and profit impacts of Bt adoption. Analysis of the distribution of benefits between farmers due to the technology is also presented. In parallel with these socio-economic measures, the toxic loads being presented to the environment following the introduction of Bt cotton are monitored in terms of insecticide active ingredient (ai) and the Biocide Index. The latter adjusts ai to allow for differing persistence and toxicity of insecticides. Results show substantial and significant financial benefits to smallholder cotton growers of adopting Bt cotton over three seasons in terms of increased yields, lower insecticide spray costs and higher gross margins. This includes one particularly wet, poor growing season. In addition, those with the smaller holdings appeared to benefit proportionately more from the technology (in terms of higher gross margins) than those with larger holdings. Analysis using the Gini-coefficient suggests that the Bt technology has helped to reduce inequality amongst smallholder cotton growers in Makhathini compared to what may have been the position if they had grown conventional cotton. However, while Bt growers applied lower amounts of insecticide and had lower Biocide Indices (per ha) than growers of non-Bt cotton, some of this advantage was due to a reduction in non-bollworm insecticide. Indeed, the Biocide Index for all farmers in the population actually increased with the introduction of Bt cotton. The results indicate the complexity of such studies on the socio-economic and environmental impacts of GM varieties in the developing world.

Bt-cotton boosts the gross margin of small-scale cotton producers in South Africa

This paper describes the method and findings of a survey designed to explore the economic benefits of the adoption of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton for smallholder farmers in the Republic of South Africa. The study found reason for cautious optimism in that the Bt variety generally resulted in a per hectare increase in yields and value of output with a reduction in pesticide costs, which outweighed the increase in seed costs to give a substantial increase in gross margins. Thus, these preliminary results suggest that Bt cotton is good for smallholder cotton farmers and the environment.

Farm-level performance of genetically modified cotton: a frontier analysis of cotton production in Maharashtra

This paper explores some of the issues involved in the Genetic Modification (GM) debate by focusing on one crop that has been modified for pest resistance, cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), and commercially released to small-scale farmers in the Makhathini Flats, KwaZulu Natal, the Republic of South Africa. This was the first commercial release of a GM variety (Bt-cotton) in Sub-Saharan Africa, and thus provides valuable and timely insights into some of the potential advantages and disadvantages of the technology for small-scale farmers in Africa. Even though there are wider concerns regarding the vulnerability of small-scale farmers in the area, the survey results suggest that Bt-cotton generated higher yields and gross margins than non-Bt-cotton. In addition, Bt-cotton significantly reduced the use of pesticide with consequent potential benefits to human health and the environment.

Can GM-technologies help the poor? The efficiency of Bt cotton adopters in the Makhathini flats of Kwazulu-Natal

In this paper, the yield increases resulting from the cultivation of Bt cotton in Maharashtra, India, are analysed. The study relies on commercial farm, rather than trial, data and is among the first of its kind to be based on real farm and market conditions. Findings show that since its commercial release in 2002, Bt cotton has had a significant positive impact on yields and on the economic performance of cotton growers in Maharashtra. This difference remains even after controlling for different soil and insecticide inputs in the production of Bt cotton. There is also significant spatial and temporal variation in this‘benefit’, and much depends upon where production is taking place and on the season.

Economic Impact of Genetically Modified Cotton in India

The results of this survey of 100 smallholders in the Makhathini Flats, KwaZulu-Natal give cause for cautious optimism regarding the impacts of Bt cotton. Farmers who adopted Bt cotton benefited from the new technology, according to all the measures used. Average yield per hectare and per kilogram of seed was higher for adopters than for non-adopters. The increase in yields and the reduction in chemical application costs outweighed the higher seed cost, even in a poor production season due to unusually heavy rainfall. Bt adopters suffered far less of a fall in yields than those who did not adopt. As yields and gross margins are partial measures of efficiency, deterministic and stochastic efficiency frontiers were measured. Both methods confirm the farm accounting results, showing that Bt cotton adopters were more efficient. For 1998, the results showed that adopters averaged 88% efficiency, as compared with 66% for non-adopters. In 1999, the equivalent figures were 74% and 48%. Similarly, the determinist frontier results for both years show that adopters were over 62% efficient, while non-adopters averaged only 46%.