India Becomes Second Largest Cotton Producing
Country
India has overtaken
the US to become the second largest cotton producing
country in the World, after China, a study by International
Service For the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Application
(ISAAA) said.
India which was having one of the lowest cotton yields
in the World has become a net cotton exporter, potentially
five million bales in 2007-08, the study said.
Bt cotton was a major factor contributing to higher
rate of production from 15.8 million bales in 2001-02
to 31 million bales in 2007-08, it said.
Releasing their brief of Global Status of Commercialized
Biotech/GM crops:2007, Dr C P Thiagarajan, a former
professor of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, said
India experienced the highest proportional increase
in 2007 for the third consecutive year with a 63 per
cent gain to 6.2 million hectare of BT cotton.
The income of growers in India has also increased upto
Rs 10,000 or more per hectare. The studies have shown
strong farmer confidence in the crops with nine of 10
Indian farmers replanting biotech cotton year on year,
ISAAA said.
Source:
The Economic Times Date: February 19, 2008
