Cotton in Pakistan is mainly produced in two provinces, namely Punjab and Sindh, accounting for 80% and 19% of total national production, respectively [35]. here. The study protocol was reviewed and received approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of IFPRI (IRB No. 1. Table 1 compares farmers’ self-reported Bt adoption with the strip test results for the presence of the Bt gene and the ELISA test results for Bt gene expression levels. (1) Mean pesticide quantity is higher for Bt adopters than for non-adopters. These estimates contradict findings from previous studies on health effects of Bt cotton adoption [23–24, 64].

• Cotton yield increased from 308kg/ha in 2001-02 to 550kg/ha in 2014-15. Hence, in poorly regulated markets, there may be cases where farmers believe they have purchased Bt seeds when in fact they have not. Several studies have documented a lower incidence of acute pesticide poisoning symptoms among cotton farmers that adopted Bt technology. Second, the study provides strong evidence of a negative association between Bt adoption and pesticide-induced health costs, but causal interpretations should be made with caution. Supervision, Funding acquisition, While farmers may also use small quantities of pesticides on crops other than cotton, cotton is clearly the main cash crop for all farmers in our sample, accounting for the lion’s share of all pesticide applications. It is worth noting that health costs based on this cost-of-illness approach provide a lower bound estimate of the true costs of ill health, as other potential costs, such as the opportunity cost of work days lost by nursing household members, work productivity losses, the value of foregone leisure, or defensive expenditures, are ignored [25].

Farmers who were uncertain about the nature of their seeds are classified as non-adopters in this classification. Don't forget another good way of simplifying your writing is using external resources (such as ⇒ www.HelpWriting.net ⇐ ). Uncertainty about the quality of Bt seeds was reported for several developing countries, including China, India, and Pakistan [4, 27–31]. Data used in this study originate from two sources.

In other cases, the symptoms may be more severe, such that farmers decide to consult a doctor, take medications, or at least rest for a while to recover. Bt cotton is effective in controlling the yield losses caused by pesticides such as Earias vittella and Pectinophora gossypiella (most commonly referred to Bollworms). Bt cotton adoption has generated sizeable economic gains by reducing pesticide costs and increasing effectively-harvested yields [2–6]. Looks like you’ve clipped this slide to already. • In 2002 Bt cotton was introduced in India. Bt adopters and non-adopters do not differ significantly in terms of age, education, and most other socioeconomic variables. (7). However, it is also important to stress that the benefits may not fully materialize in poorly regulated seed markets. Double-hurdle model estimates suggest that the adoption of true-performing Bt technology reduces the probability of experiencing pesticide-induced health symptoms that require medical treatment by 17% and the cost of illness by Rs 88. The opportunity cost of work days lost was valued at the current wage rate locally paid to farm workers at the survey time, taking into account individual skills. BY: Cotton Variety of cotton. You can get help from research paper writing. Table 4 reports results from the LR test used to assess the appropriateness of the DH model against the more restrictive Tobit specification. The worms present on the leaves of Bt cotton become lethargic and sleepy and thus, cause less damage to the plants. In model (II), we use weak-Bt and true-Bt adoption based on the laboratory tests as two separate dummy variables (with non-Bt as the reference). First, the study relies on farmers’ own statements about acute health symptoms and medical treatment costs incurred. Citation: Kouser S, Spielman DJ, Qaim M (2019) Transgenic cotton and farmers’ health in Pakistan. The second stage explains the treatment costs in monetary terms conditional on the first-stage outcome being positive. Our study also brings nuance to the heated discourse around the introduction of transgenic crops for which a key expected advantage—reduction in pesticide exposure and associated illnesses—has often been viewed as a second-order benefit behind better control of crop damage and reductions in the financial cost of spraying. If you wish to opt out, please close your SlideShare account. My professor asked me to write a research paper based on a field I have no idea about. The selected households are representative of cotton farmers in these zones. Además, se aplicarán las condiciones generales de uso y la política de privacidad de Scribd. Click through the PLOS taxonomy to find articles in your field. See our User Agreement and Privacy Policy.

Varsha chauhan Using estimates of unconditional average marginal effects, true-Bt seed adoption decreases farmers’ health costs by 33%. broad scope, and wide readership – a perfect fit for your research every time. Scribd will begin operating the SlideShare business on December 1, 2020 Furthermore, socioeconomic characteristics, such as farmers’ age, education, and off-farm employment, are included. In the last stage, 14 cotton growers were randomly selected with equal probabilities in one randomly selected block within each mouza, yielding a sample of 728 households. Genetically Modified crops.
Technology adoption may be endogenous, which could result in selection bias. Yes Then we describe the design of the surveys and the empirical models used to explore the impact of Bt cotton on human health. •India has the largest hectarage of cotton and accounts for approximately one third of the total cotton are planted in the world. Cotton pickers, often poor female laborers, were also found to suffer from pesticide-related illnesses [47–48]. Now customize the name of a clipboard to store your clips.

The large health costs associated with chemical pesticide use are in line with previous studies for the cotton sector of Pakistan and elsewhere [7, 18, 20, 42]. Indirect costs include the opportunity cost of work days lost by farmers due to illness. For more information about PLOS Subject Areas, click Nevertheless, even when a farmer does not spray himself/herself, he/she may still be exposed to pesticides during monitoring [41], which is why we include the observations from all cotton farmers in the estimates. This is supported by the fact that about 12% of the farmers in Punjab were unsure whether or not they had planted Bt seeds.

Several studies have observed significantly increased concentrations of pesticide residues in blood samples of pesticide operators [45–46].

Moreover, the cost of illness approach used in this study does not include intangible costs of pesticide-related illness, such as pain and discomfort [61–62]. Más información, pero puedes navegar por un montón de contenido interesante en nuestra página de. These findings have important implications for the regulation of seed markets in Pakistan and beyond: improved regulations that ensure claimed crop traits are really expressed can increase the benefits for farmers and society at large.