title: A Black (White) Hole in the Global Spread of GM Cotton.
abstract: Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) cotton has been widely adopted, notably by smallholder farmers in developing countries. However, it has not been used in Central Asia, an important cotton-producing region. We discuss possible reasons and hypothesize that the most likely explanation is limited local demand for Bt owing to low levels of pest infestation. This would imply that global Bt cotton adoption rates may already be close to 100% when considering real demand for insect-resistant varieties.
authors.affiliation: LICOS Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address: Burkitbayeva@iamo.de.
authors.forename: Saule
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Burkitbayeva
authors.affiliation: Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Georg-August-University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany. Electronic address: mqaim@uni-goettingen.de.
authors.forename: Matin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Qaim
authors.affiliation: LICOS Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Swinnen
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods; D000818:Animals; D001413:Bacillus thuringiensis / Q000235:genetics; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D003368:Gossypium / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development*; D006801:Humans; D007313:Insecta / Q000254:growth & development*; D010572:Pest Control, Biological; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development*
chemical_list: D001427:Bacterial Toxins
keywords: Bt cotton; Central Asia; political economy of GMOs