Bangladeshi eggplant farmers reap rewards via genetics

Farmers in Bangladesh achieved significantly higher yields and revenues by growing insect-resistant, genetically engineered eggplant, a new Cornell study has found.

The four genetically engineered (Bt) varieties yielded, on average, 19.6% more eggplant – known as brinjal in Bangladesh – than non-Bt varieties and earned growers 21.7% higher revenue, according to the study, published May 25 in Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology.

The additional revenue per hectare (1 hectare is approximately 2 ? acres) is the equivalent of around $664, a substantial sum for resource-poor farmers in Bangladesh.

The paper is the first to document the economic benefits of the four existing Bt brinjal varieties though the Bangladeshi market chain and their acceptability to farmers and consumers, said lead author Tony Shelton, professor of entomology and former director for the Feed the Future South Asia Eggplant Improvement Partnership based in Cornell's Department of Global Development. The study was based on a 2019 survey of Bt and non-Bt brinjal farmers.

Bt brinjal was developed by the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) in conjunction with Mahyco (an India-based agricultural company), Cornell and the U.S. Agency for International Development, in an effort to stop the losses caused by eggplant fruit and shoot borer (EFSB) larvae caterpillars, and reduce pesticide use.