SAFEAGE FACT SHEET NO. 3

COTTON

The South African government has supported the development of small-scale cotton farmers, using Monsanto's insect resistant cotton in the Makhatini Flats, KwaZulu Natal. The Makhatini experiment has been portrayed as a 'success story' by Monsanto, while it has not yet proven to benefit the lives of local small-scale farmers.

According to a study by Biowatch,[i] only four of 36 Makhatini farmers studied had made a profit when using this product. Large numbers have defaulted on loans, showing how this GM technology has failed to provide meaningful solutions to what are complex socio-economic challenges. This is illustrative of the shortcomings of industrial agriculture to provide relevant solutions to the challenges confronted by the developing world. 

Most of the cotton grown in the country is marketed locally. GM Cottonseed oil is a major concern because it finds its way into cooking oil, shortening, salad dressing, and in snack foods such as crackers, biscuits and chips. The meal and hulls produced from cottonseeds are fed to livestock – and thence back to us, the consumers.