Even as productivity has risen from 301 kg per hectare in 2002-03 to an estimated 580 kg per hectare this year, Bt Cotton has also translated into savings of around Rs 800 crore on pesticide costs in 2006. Farmers’ pesticide costs are down by 32 per cent (savings of Rs 934 per acre) as Bt Cotton seeds require 4.6 sprays less than conventional seeds per acre. So even though Bt seeds cost two-and-a-half times more than conventional seeds, the 50 per cent jump in yields, better quality crop and lesser spends on pesticides mean farmers’ revenues have gone up by as much as 162 per cent or Rs 7,800 per acre.

The 37 districts covered in the study were randomly picked. “We have also tried to achieve the right mix of marginal, small, medium and large farmers. However, remember that marginal farmers in India refers to farmers with less than a hectare of land, whereas in a country like Argentina, it refers to farmers with less than 100 hectares of land,” Chaudhary said.60 percent of farmers covered by the study were Bt Cotton users while 40 per cent used conventional seeds. The study was conducted when the farmers were in the midst of their final yield assessments.