Articles

Local perceptions and myth are that Bt cotton increases yields, but the available data tells a different story. According to the data published by United States Department of Agriculture, the agriculture cotton data about Pakistan and Australia clearly shows that average yields have remained the same between 1990 and 2010, although Bt technology is being experimented in Australia since 1996 and in Pakistan informally since 2005. In Australia, yield per acre in 1991 (before Bt cotton) was 1,588 lbs and in 2010 (with BG-II & RRF) was 1,457 lbs. Similarly, in Pakistan, the yield was 685 pounds per acre in 1990-91 but it went down to 622 pounds per acre in 2009.