Biotechnology and Agricultural Development Transgenic Cotton, Rural Institutions and Resource-poor Farmers

299 Pages·2009·2.91 MB·English

by  Rob Tripp

Biotechnology and Agricultural
Development
This book addresses the continuing controversy over the potential impact of
genetically modified (GM) crops in developing countries. Supporters of the tech-
nology claim it offers one of the best hopes for increasing agricultural production
and reducing rural poverty, while opponents see it as an untested intervention that
will bring corporate control of peasant farming. The book examines the issues by
reviewing the experience of GM, insect-resistant cotton, the most widely grown
GM crop in developing countries.
The book begins with an introduction to agricultural biotechnology, a brief
examination of the history of cotton production technology (and the institutions
required to support that technology), and a thorough review of the literature on
the agronomic performance of GM cotton. It then provides a review of the eco-
nomic and institutional outcomes of GM cotton during the first decade of its use.
The core of the book is four country case studies based on original fieldwork in
the principal developing countries growing GM cotton (China, India, South
Africa and Colombia). The book concludes with a summary of the experience to
date and implications for the future of GM crops in developing countries.
This review challenges those who have predicted technological failure by
describing instances in which GM cotton has proven useful and has been enthu-
siastically taken up by smallholders. But it also challenges those who claim that
biotechnology can take the lead in agricultural development by examining the
precarious institutional basis on which these hopes rest in most countries. The
analysis shows how biotechnology’s potential contribution to agricultural devel-
opment must be seen as a part of (and often secondary to) more fundamental
policy change. The book should be of interest to a wide audience concerned with
agricultural development. This would include academics in the social and agri-
cultural sciences, donor agencies and NGOs.
Robert Tripp has a doctorate in social anthropology and has spent his career
working on issues related to agricultural technology development and dissemina-
tion. He spent 15 years with the Economics Program of the International Maize
and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and 12 years as a research fellow
with the Overseas Development Institute (ODF).
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Biotechnology and
Agricultural Development
Transgenic cotton, rural institutions and
resource-poor farmers
Edited by
Robert Tripp
First published 2009
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
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This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2009.
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© 2009 Robert Tripp
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Biotechnology and agricultural development: transgenic cotton, rural
institutions and resource-poor farmers / edited by Robert Tripp.
p. cm.—(Routledge explorations in environmental economics; 19)
1. Cotton—Biotechnology—Economic aspects—Developing
countries—Case studies. 2. Agricultural biotechnology—Economic
aspects—Developing countries. 3. Agriculture and state—Developing
countries—Case studies. I. Tripp, Robert Burnet. II. Series.
HD9088.D44B56 2009
338.1′763351091724—dc22 2008052124
ISBN 0-203-87646-6 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN10: 0–415–49963–1 (hbk)
ISBN10: 0–415–54384–3 (pbk)
ISBN10: 0–203–87646–6 (ebk)
ISBN13: 978–0–415–49963–7 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978–0–415–54384–2 (pbk)
ISBN13: 978–0–203–87646–6 (ebk)
Contents
List of illustrations ix
List of contributors xv
Acknowledgements xvii
List of abbreviations xix
Foreword xxi
RAY OFFENHEISER AND KIMBERLY PFEIFER
1 Biotechnology and agricultural development 1
ROBERT TRIPP
2 Cotton production and technology 23
ROBERT TRIPP
3 Development, agronomic performance and sustainability
of transgenic cotton for insect control 49
ANN M. SHOWALTER, SHANNON HEUBERGER,
BRUCE E. TABASHNIK AND YVES CARRIÈRE
4 Transgenic cotton: Assessing economic performance
in the field 72
ROBERT TRIPP
5 Transgenic cotton and institutional performance 88
ROBERT TRIPP
6 Farmers’ seed and pest control management for Bt cotton
in China 105
JIKUN HUANG, RUIJIAN CHEN, JIANWEI MI, RUIFA HU AND
ELLIE OSIR
viii Contents
7 India’s experience with Bt cotton: Case studies from Gujarat
and Maharashtra 135
N. LALITHA, BHARAT RAMASWAMI AND P.K. VISWANATHAN
8 The socio-economic impact of transgenic cotton in Colombia 168
PATRICIA ZAMBRANO, LUZ AMPARO FONSECA, IVÁN CARDONA
AND EDUARDO MAGALHAES
9 Ten years of Bt cotton in South Africa: Putting the smallholder
experience into context 200
MARNUS GOUSE
10 Summary and conclusions 225
ROBERT TRIPP
References 246
Index 268
Illustrations
Figures
6.1 Principal cotton-growing provinces of China 106
6.2 Cotton varieties sold in county capital and township
shops in 2007 112
6.3 Variation of Bt cotton seed prices (yuan/kg) for nine
major varieties in Hebei, Shandong and Henan in 2007 119
6.4 Chemical pesticides used in China, thousand tons,
1991–2006 125
6.5 Insecticide application in sample villages, Henan,
Shandong and Hebei, 2007 132
6.6 Insecticide application for bollworm in sample villages,
Henan, Shandong and Hebei, 2007 132
7.1 Location of survey areas in India 136
7.2 Seed cotton yields (kg/ha) Gujarat, Maharashtra and
all India 146
8.1 Colombia and cotton-growing regions 169
8.2 Cotton area (ha) and adoption of transgenic cotton
(%), 2004–2008 170
8.3 The activities of cotton producer associations 175
8.4 The commercialization channels for transgenic cotton
seeds, 2007 179
9.1 Cotton production area in South Africa 201
9.2 Main cotton production regions in South Africa 204
9.3 Market share of seed companies according to cotton
delivered to gins per market season 210
9.4 Total October to March rainfall for Makhathini according
to production season 215
9.5 Number of smallholder cotton producers on Makhathini Flats
and the correlation with pre-season rainfall 222