Cotton Farmers in India

Farmers selling their cotton harvest at a cotton factory in Asifabad, in the Adilabad district, Andhra Pradesh. Most farmers travel by bullock cart into town, have to wait in long lines and stay overnight in order to sell their cotton at the government support price.

Unique identifier: GP020HN

Type: Image

Shoot date: 17/10/2009

Locations: Andhra Pradesh, India, South Asia

Credit line: © Peter Caton / Greenpeace

Ranking: ★★★★ (E)

Containers

Shoot:

GE and Non-GE Cotton Research in India

Greenpeace researches the difference between farmers growing GE (genetically engineered) and non-GE cotton in India and understands that BT Cotton (a GE variety) does not perform as well as conventional cotton planted and grown using Non-Pesticide Management (NPM) or Organic growing systems. BT cotton is genetically engineered to produce a toxin that protects it from insect pests. Despite having this protection, BT cotton farmers are still advised by seed sellers to spray their crops with a variety of chemical pesticides. Greenpeace has released a report (http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/publications/reports/Picking-Cotton/) documenting the experiences of farmers in Andhra Pradesh. Unlike the seed companies, the farmers Greenpeace met with have not been profiting from BT cotton. Organic farmers have much lower costs of cultivation and therefore are more financially stable than BT cotton farmers who often end the cotton season with crushing debt.

Related Collections:

GE and Non-GE Cotton Research in India

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