Survey of local impacts of biofuel crop production and adoption of ethanol stoves in southern Africa.

The two datasets outlined in this paper contain information related to (a) the local impacts of biofuel feedstock production, and (b) the factors that influence the adoption and/or sustained use of ethanol stoves in southern Africa. The first dataset was generated through extensive household surveys around four operational jatropha and sugarcane production sites in Malawi, Mozambique, and Swaziland. This project aimed to examine the local impacts of the most prominent modes of existing or intended biofuel feedstock production in southern Africa. The resulting dataset contains information about impacts on rural livelihoods, ecosystem services, food security and poverty alleviation. The second dataset is the outcome of research into factors that influence the adoption and sustained use of ethanol stoves. This dataset was collected through a household survey in Maputo city where the only large-scale ethanol stove dissemination programme in Africa has been implemented.

Asiatic cotton can generate similar economic benefits to Bt cotton under rainfed conditions.

American cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), transformed with Bacillus thuringiensis Cry genes (Bt G. hirsutum) that confer resistance to lepidopteran pests, is extensively cultivated worldwide. In India, transgenic Bt G. hirsutum was commercially released in 2002 and by 2014 95% of farmers had adopted Bt G. hirsutum(1). The economic benefits of Bt G. hirsutum over non-Bt G. hirsutum are well documented and include increase in yields, increase in farmers' net revenue and reduction in pesticide application against lepidopteran pests(2-9). However, it is unclear to what extent irrigation influences the performance of Bt G. hirsutum on smallholder farming in India, and if, in the absence of irrigation, growing Bt G. hirsutum provides greater economic benefits for Indian smallholder farmers compared with growing the Asiatic cotton Gossypium arboreum L. Here, we compare the economic impact of growing Bt G. hirsutum with growing G. arboreum under rainfed conditions in the Indian state of Maharashtra, and show that G. arboreum can generate similar net revenue, and thus similar economic benefits for smallholder farmers compared with growing Bt G. hirsutum. We also compare the economic impact of growing Bt G. hirsutum under rainfed conditions with growing Bt G. hirsutum under irrigated conditions and show that even though Bt G. hirsutum yields increase with irrigation, the net revenue does not significantly increase because farmers using irrigation spend significantly more than farmers growing Bt G. hirsutum without irrigation. We conclude that our data provide a broader insight into how socio-economic data needs to be incorporated into agro-ecological data when planning strategies to improve cotton farming in India.