Gujarat produces about half of India’s cotton, adroitly using its Bt version this decade to boost yields and lower costs. [...] The Bt cotton plant is smaller than normal cotton, and that drives the demand for child workers. It helps that they have small, nimble fingers for the delicate work of pollination. Since agricultural labour is not a hazardous occupation, the labour laws say children under 14 can work, but only for six hours a day with an hour’s rest in between. [...] Work hours in the cotton fields stretch up to 14 hours, and children exposed to insecticides report a variety of health hazards.