Varietal integrity, damage abatement, and productivity: Evidence from the cultivation of Bt cotton in Pakistan

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dc.creatorMa, Xingliang
dc.creatorSmale, Melinda
dc.creatorSpielman, David J.
dc.creatorZambrano, Patricia
dc.creatorNazli, Hina
dc.creatorZaidi, Fatima
dc.date2016-04-07
dc.date2024-06-21T09:25:09Z
dc.date2024-06-21T09:25:09Z
dc.date.accessioned2026-06-27T15:25:47Z
dc.descriptionBt cotton remains one of the most widely grown biotech crops among smallholder farmers. Numerous studies, including those previously conducted in Pakistan, attest to its yield and cost advantages. However, the effectiveness of Bt toxin, which depends on many technical constraints, is heterogeneous. Furthermore, in Pakistan, the diffusion of Bt cotton varieties occurred despite a weak regulatory system and without seed quality control; evidence demonstrates that varieties sold as Bt may not contain the genes or express them effectively. We use data collected from a sample that is statistically representative of the nation’s cotton growers to test the effects of Bt cotton use on productivity in a damage control framework. Unlike previous studies, we employ five measures of Bt identity: name, official approval status, farmer belief, laboratory tests of Bt presence in plant tissue, and biophysical assays measuring Bt effectiveness. Only farmers’ belief that a variety is Bt affects cotton productivity. Although all measures reduce damage from pests, the biophysical indicators have the largest effect, and official approval has the weakest. For applied economists, findings highlight the importance of getting the data right concerning Bt. For policy makers, they suggest the need, on ethical if not productivity grounds, to monitor variety integrity closer to point of sale.
dc.formatapplication/pdf
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/148594
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/104123
dc.languageen
dc.publisherInternational Food Policy Research Institute
dc.relationhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/153838
dc.relationhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/160902
dc.rightsOpen Access
dc.sourceMa, Xingliang; Smale, Melinda; Spielman, David J.; Zambrano, Patricia; Nazli, Hina and Zaidi, Fatima. 2016. Varietal integrity, damage abatement, and productivity: Evidence from the cultivation of Bt cotton in Pakistan. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1520. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://hdl.handle.net/10568/148594
dc.subjectintensive farming
dc.subjectbiotechnology
dc.subjectcotton
dc.subjecthybrids
dc.subjectgenetically modified foods
dc.subjectcapacity development
dc.subjectsmallholders
dc.subjectdamage abatement
dc.subjectgenetically modified organisms
dc.titleVarietal integrity, damage abatement, and productivity: Evidence from the cultivation of Bt cotton in Pakistan
dc.typeWorking Paper

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Instituto Internacional de Investigación sobre Políticas Alimentarias (IFPRI)