Projects

Results: In the first comprehensive economic analysis of Australia’s $500m annual rural R&D investment program, it is shown that taxpayers snared $488 for every public dollar invested in the development of transgenic (Bt) cotton varieties.

The evaluation report also says cotton farmers’ investment in Bt cotton R&D earned them a return of $201 for every dollar they invested in this world-leading plant breeding research. Bt cotton contains a toxin that successfully protects cotton plants from attack from the crop’s major insect pests. None of the toxins are conferred to the cotton fibre or the seed, which is a rich source of oils for human and animal consumption.

The Bt cotton investment evaluation found reduced chemical sprays delivered real environmental benefits through substantially reduced volumes of chemicals in the environment together with increased biodiversity of natural predators of pests of cotton and grain crops.

Narrabri NSW cotton farmer and Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CRDC) chair, Mike Logan, says research investments in Bt cotton breeding have benefited cotton farmers, the cotton industry and regional communities that rely on a vibrant and profitable cotton industry. The wider Australian community also benefits greatly from high-grade cotton and food-grade oil exports, he says.

The research project co-invested by CRDC and evaluated by the BDA Group is part of a comprehensive economic evaluation of Australia’s investment in rural R&D.

“The investment support from the public through matching industry’s own R&D contributions ensures the successful deployment of Bt cotton nationally and helps Australia’s cotton producers retain a competitive edge in a tough global market,” Mr Logan says. “Bt cotton varieties account for close to 90 percent of the area under cotton in Australia and the widespread adoption by farmers of the technologies applied in this research has been partly responsible for a massive decline in pesticides required to control insect pests in cotton crops, Mr Logan adds.

Industry and public support of Bt cotton breeding research has been undertaken over many years and has involved research inputs across a number of scientific areas on a collaborative basis with other public and private organisations, Mr Logan says.
 
Mr Logan has long been a strong advocate of best practice use of natural resources in the Australian cotton industry. Mr Logan says CRDC investments in R&D also achieves significant social benefits.
 
“These include reduced worker exposure to chemicals, improved lifestyle and less stress for farming families due to reduced use of insecticides. Through the CRDC investment, development of resistance to the transgenic varieties by major pest species has been successfully managed while the “shelf life” of transgenic cotton extended as a direct result of producers developing and implementing their own industry-wide farm management systems.

“The research also contributed to the development of scientific expertise in Bt cotton resistance management in Australia.”