Economic and Social Benefits of GM Cotton Edworks E Mhandu

Outline of Presentation Current Situation Decline in cotton production Reasons attributed to the decline Economic benefits of GM cotton Comparison of income and production ZIM and SA Frequently asked questions Closing remarks

Zimbabwe: Cotton Area, Production & Productivity Kg/Ha Area, Production, Productivity falling over the past three years; Farm income is also going down.

Reasons of Decline in Production Reduced planting of cotton Due to low prices of seed cotton Farmers making losses from cotton production Better prices of competing crops Reduced crop support to the farmers Less or negligible fertilizers and chemicals Pests control especially bollworms, affecting the yield High dependency on Global lint prices Zimbabwe consumes <2% of production, exports lint to Europe and Asia International cotton lint price forecast to remain low Improving the farm productivity is key to reviving the Zimbabwean cotton sector.

Improving the Farm Productivity Global commodity price, Lint Price – Uncontrollable factor Challenges faced by farmers to improve productivity in Zimbabwe Climate change, drought and erratic rains Low yields, less nutrient application, high pest infestation Compete with farmers on international market that have better technology Zimbabwe farmers need superior Technology to compete against the Global farmers

Modern Technology to improve farm productivity & Profitability Cotton Farmers around the world have adopted Biotechnology to make production more efficient China, India, USA, Australia, Brazil… Burkina Faso, South Africa.. Why Farmers Choose GM Crops Tangible economic benefits, higher returns per hectare Higher crop yields Easier and safer to produce The traits: Insect resistant (Bt); Herbicide tolerant (HT) 50% yield loss attributed to bollworms Weeds compete with cotton plants for nutrients The advantages of Biotechnology have led to its adoption by the farmers around the world.

Sub-thresh hold insect control Benefits of Bt Cotton Bt Cotton has in built protection against boll worms 24X7 Saving in Cost: Reduce the number of sprays for boll worms from more than 8 to 2 or less Yield increase, high retention of the bolls on the plants Peace of mind, no need to worry about yield loss due to bollworms How does the technology increase the yield, saves spraying cost? Sub-thresh hold insect control

insecticide application Sub-threshold insect Control Bt-Cotton Economic Threshold level Normal cotton insecticide application triggered $ Time Population (Damage) Bt-Cotton Savings Bollworms are controlled, Bolls are protected even if the farmer goes on holiday!

Incomes and production costs for smallholder farmers 2013/14 *   Zimbabwe South Africa Non-GM GM Number of sprays 8 2 Yield: Seed cotton (kg/ha) 819 1,012 Seed Cotton price (US cents/kg) 56 Income (US$/ha) 459 567 Cost of production (US$/ha) 359 306 Net income (US$/ha) 100 261 * Studies conducted (Zim 72 and SA 42 smallholder farmers) 2014 - 2015 The actual increase productivity in other countries is much higher than the above. Example: In India Bt Cotton achieved 83% increase in productivity from 300 kg of lint/ha to 550kg of lint/ha

Economic, Social, Health and Environmental Benefits Economic Benefits: Incremental $52 million every year Yield benefits ($40 million) Increase in yield: 193Kg/Ha; Approx. 80K tonnes incremental yield in 400K Ha for Zimbabwe $40 million incremental benefit to the country Chemical saving for bollworm control ($12 million) Reduction of 6 sprays at 0.25 litres per spray = 1.5 litres/ha In 400, 000 ha at 1.5 litres/ha = 600,000 litres of saving in chemicals If the cost of chemicals is $20 per litre, net saving is = $12 million Labour previous allocated to pest control is released to other farming activities Reduced contact with hazardous chemicals Less hazardous chemicals released to the environment The economic benefit can be much higher depending on the increase in the yield; Less chemicals are deposited into the environment including water bodies

In spite of benefits, some questions are often raised… Are multinational companies going to control the Seed Supply? Is the seed going to be expensive? How safe are Bt Cotton products to human beings? Insects develop resistance of Bt Cotton over a period of time? Will the country lose export markets if Bt Cotton is adopted? Is oil produced from Bt Cotton seed safe for people to consume? It is important to understand, evaluate the risks and benefits … And address the concerns.

Are multinational companies going to control the Seed Supply? The Bt technology is transferred to the local cotton genetics once They are multiplied & produced locally year after year in Zimbabwe

Is the seed going to be expensive? For example technology cost $30 more per ha, the incremental price for 400K ha is $12 million National saving of chemical for bollworm control is also $12 million Increase in National income over $50 million If the yield increase per ha is 400Kg (like India), the National income benefit is over $90 million

How safe are Bt Cotton products to human beings? Bt Cotton works in Basic medium, in acidic medium it gets digested in stomach like any other protein. (Science behind Bt Cotton) Only the lepidopteran pests have basic medium in stomach, all others have acidic medium It does not even control the sucking pests!

Insects developing resistance over a period of time? Refuge strategy needs to be followed (5% of Non Bt-Cotton in the field) In the event that an insect has survived from Bt Cotton field, if it mates with another insect that survived from Bt Cotton, the chances of developing resistance are high. If it mates with an insect from an area of non-Bt Cotton, the risk of development of resistance is reduced. Even the resistance development is common with application of chemicals (ex Pyrethroid) The solution is integrated pest management with refuge (Non-Bt Cotton)

Is Zimbabwe going to loose export market? World leading cotton producing countries adopted 90% Bt cotton, e.g India, China, USA, Australia, Brazil, SA, Burkina Faso. Over 70% of cotton traded in the world is GM cotton.

Is oil produced from Bt-Cotton seed safe for people to consume? India produces 1.4 million tonnes of edible oil from Bt Cotton annually For 14 years Indians have consumed oil processed from Bt Cotton, no reported adverse effects India produces over 10 million tonnes of Cotton Seed Cake for feeding dairy animals, NO single adverse case reported. In fact, Cotton seed cake is a preferred animal feed for its value to increase milk fat content.

Great innovations came with risks associated with them.. Risk assessments and evaluation of the benefits are conducted before acceptance and adoption or rejection E.g. medicines, aircrafts, vehicles… Bt Cotton adopted by millions of farmers around the world Certainly deserves to be evaluated for claims of economic benefits to the farmers Through confined field trials and risk assessment studies Confined Field Trials are needed to assess the performance of GM crops and assess the claims of high yields and potential risks

Thank you!