Reconstructing Facts in Bt Cotton: Why Scepticism Fails

The case that the "triumph narrative" of Bt cotton in India comes mainly from economists, the biotech industry and their academic allies is a difficult one to sustain when dozens of studies show the positive effects of insect resistance in Bt cotton. Yields are driven by numerous factors, and there will be variance — field-to-field, season-to-season. Despite this, Bt cotton has been agro-economically successful because of the lower cost of production per unit and thus higher net returns — facts that are consistent with the near universal adoption of Bt technology by farmers.