07.11.2007 | permalink
India’s stunning economic success in recent years, fueled by its technology services sector, obscures the fact that it is still predominantly a nation of farmers. Almost 60 percent of India’s 1.1 billion people depend on agriculture for their livelihood. [...] The rise in cotton production is often linked (Hindu Business Line) to introduction of the genetically modified Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) cotton seed, which entered the Indian markets in 2002. Many experts oppose the use of Bt cotton, saying farmers have to take on huge debts every year to buy the expensive seeds and have struggled to make them productive.