Adoption and uptake pathways of Bt Cotton in India
Contrary to the perception that young farmers are abandoning active farming, the survey conducted by the Indian Society for Cotton Improvement (ISCI) demonstrates that Bt cotton technology has attracted young farmers to cotton farming in the country. "More than 50% of respondent Bt cotton farmers were from the lower middle age group ranging from 21 to 40 years with a mean average age of 42 years for all respondents in the three surveyed States," noted the report. The ISCI's survey report "The Adoption and Uptake Pathways of Bt Cotton in India", is the result of the largest and most comprehensive survey involving 2,400 Bt cotton farmers across the three agro-ecologically distinct cotton growing States of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab.