Science Aversion in Cotton Breeding
India’s cotton story is one of the clearest examples of what happens when science is allowed to work—and what follows when politics overtakes innovation. India did not arrive at BT cotton through a smooth policy rollout; it arrived there through a clash between regulation, farmer demand, and field-level evidence. Before commercial approval was granted, the government had withheld permission for BT cotton, even as farmers in Gujarat began planting unapproved genetically modified seeds that appeared to withstand bollworm attacks far better than conventional cotton. Sharad Joshi and the Shetkari Sanghatana publicly backed these farmers, arguing that Indian cultivators deserved access to the same technologies already being used elsewhere. The introduction of BT cotton in 2002 helped lift yields dramatically, turning a chronically vulnerable crop into a national success story. Cotton production rose from 13.6 million bales in 2002-03 to 39.8 million bales in 2013-14 , while yield...