Resumen
- Colombia is located at the northwest part of South America. It is very close to the equator and therefore is considered a tropical country having constant temperature and day-length throughout the year. This makes it possible to grow cotton all year long. Even though there is historic data documenting cotton fiber production in the 1920s, modern cotton production in the country is considered to have started in the1970s. Colombia registered the largest area (377,246 ha) planted to cotton in 1977. This has since decreased, reaching 65,396 ha in 2005, with a lint production of 51,610 tons and lint yield of 789 kg/ha. About 7,584 farmers plant cotton each year and the average farm size in the country is 8.6 ha. There are two rainy seasons: one in February/March and a second in July/August. This, along with some sanitary regulations, has contributed to the definition of two production zones: one at the interior of the country (the internal valleys), which grows cotton from February to July; and a second production zone, located at the North Coast and Llanos high plains, which grows cotton from July to December. Most farmers in Colombia are small farmers (72%), cultivating farms of less than five hectares, which contribute about 28 percent of the planted area. After adopting the UN Biodiversity Act and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosecurity, Colombia first introduced transgenic cotton for evaluation in 2001. Biotech cotton was subsequently released for commercial use after three years of testing. Varieties offered in the market are BtI, which provides protection against Heliothis virescens, Alabama argillacea, Trichoplusia ni, and Sacadodes pyralis. Pests that require insecticide applications in Colombia are boll weevil, Spodoptera, sting bugs, white fly, Heliothis, and Colombian pink boll worm. However, insect pests vary in the two cotton production zones: boll weevil, Spodoptera, sting bugs and white fly are more important in the North Coast; and Colombian pink bollworm and boll weevil in the interior zone. These differences in pest distribution and importance, especially the occurrence of Colombian pink boll worm at the interior, have led to greater adoption of transgenic cotton in the interior zone than at the North Coast. After commercial release in 2004, adoption in the interior zone increased from 19 to 24 and to 63 percent of planted area in 2004, 2005 and 2006, respectively, while at the North Coast, adoption has progressed slower, from 15 to 24 and to 29 percent for the same years. There has also been a difference in the adoption with regard to farm size. While at the North Coast, adoption by small farmers declined from 15 to 8 and to 5 percent for years 2004, 2005, and 2006, respectively, it increased in the interior zone from 33 percent in 2004 to 44 percent in both 2005 and 2006. Economic evaluation indicates that technology costs are well worth for farmers at the interior, who have to protect their crop against Sacadodes pyralis, while for farmers at the North Coast it is not worth it, since Bt cotton does not provide protection against the prevailing pests. Bt II has not yet been approved for commercial use in Colombia, and since it provides a broader spectrum of protection against pests, especially Spodoptera, this may change the current picture of adoption in the country. RR has also only recently been approved.