A recent study by Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) researchers provides evidence that there are positive impacts of the insect-resistant genetically modified (GM) rice on productivity and farmer health.

    In cooperation with US scientists, Prof. Huang Jikun and colleagues from the CAS Center of Chinese Agricultural Policy made surveys on randomly selected farm households cultivating insect-resistant GM rice varieties. They found that when compared with households cultivating non-GM rice, small and poor farm households in benefit from adopting GM rice by both higher crop yields and reduced use of pesticides, which also contribute to improved health. Their finding was published in the April 29 issue of the Science magazine.

    Thanks to biotechnology development programs in China, several GM rice varieties have been successfully developed in this country. Since the 1990s, many of them have entered and passed field and environmental release trials, and for the last three years four varieties have been in preproduction trials in farmer fields. But none of them have got the permission to be commercialized.

    Many factors hinder the commercialization of GM food crops, says Prof. Huang Jikun. One of them is that little independent evidence has been provided on whether the crops would really improve farmer welfare. To address the problem, Huang and his coworkers made an in-depth analysis of the effect of insect-resistant GM rice on farm households before commercialization in eight villages, where the preproduction trials of the GM rice were conducted in 2002 and 2003.

    The results of their surveys demonstrate that the insect-resistant GM rice yields were 6 to 9% higher than conventional varieties, with an 80% reduction in pesticide usage and a reduction in their threat to farmers' health.

    Such high potential benefits suggest that, according to Prof. Huang, products from China's plant biotechnology industry could be an effective way to increase both competitiveness internationally and rural incomes domestically. The benefits are only magnified if the health effects are added. The implications of the commercialization of GM rice in China could also far exceed the productivity and health effects on its own producers.