In 2002, the government of India allowed Monsanto to start selling Bt cotton to farmers in India.

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The results indicate a sizeable impact of Bt cotton on the yield and value of output under both irrigated and unirrigated conditions.

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In the years since, Bt cotton has pervaded cotton farming in India.

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Bt cotton bears at least partially blame for these tragedies, according to CHRGJ, because it is more water intensive than other cotton seeds.

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In 2006, the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, India evaluated the performance of Bt cotton in India based on a survey of Bt cotton farmers and agricultural data.

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Bt cotton, named after a tiny bug, Bacillus thuringiensis, whose insect-fighting properties have been transferred (to several crops besides cotton) not to sell more herbicide, Roundup or any other, but to require less pesticide.

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The problem was worst in the central Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, where some farmers who took large loans to buy new Bt Cotton seeds committed suicide when their yields were so poor that they couldn't repay their debts.

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Monsanto has received U.S. Department of Agriculture approval for commercial sale of Bt strains of corn, potatoes and cotton.

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