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Bt cotton, yields and farmers’ benefits

Nature Plants volume 6, pages 1318–1319 (2020)Cite this article

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Matters Arising to this article was published on 12 October 2020

The Original Article was published on 13 March 2020

arising from K. R. Kranthi and G. D. Stone Nature Plants https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-020-0615-5 (2020)

The agronomic and socioeconomic effects of insect-resistant Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton in India have long been debated. In their recent Perspective article, Kranthi and Stone1 used 20 years of data to analyse associations between the adoption of Bt cotton, crop yields and insecticide use, claiming that Bt technology had little yield effects and did not produce any enduring benefits. Here, I argue that the methods used by Kranthi and Stone are not suitable to make statements about causal effects, so their conclusions are misleading. As earlier studies showed2,3,4,5,6,7, Bt cotton has contributed to sizeable yield gains and important benefits for cotton farmers and the environment.

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Fig. 1: Net effects of Bt cotton adoption in India (2002–2008).

References

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  1. Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany

    Matin Qaim

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Correspondence to Matin Qaim.

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Qaim, M. Bt cotton, yields and farmers’ benefits. Nat. Plants 6, 1318–1319 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-020-00788-8

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