AgBioForum Volume 9 Number 3
Partial table of contents of interest for seed professionals
(Links are to the original articles)

• Insect resistance management for Bt Corn: an assessment of community refuge schemes
  Jennifer L. Price, Bureau of Labor Statistics Jeffrey Hyde and Dennis D. Calvin, Penn State University
  
  Because of Bt corn's efficacy in controlling European corn borer, farmers are required to implement an insect resistance management (IRM) program that constrains each farmer to plant no more than 80% of the farm's corn to Bt varieties. This "refuge" must be planted within a half-mile of Bt corn and must be contained on the same farm. "Community refuge" schemes, those which allow the refuge area to be planted on a neighboring farm, have been proposed. In this analysis, we estimate the potential gains to all farms in the community in two representative locations: Pennsylvania and Iowa. The results of a decision analysis model show that the potential gains are very small; the greatest is only $652 over a 2000-acre community ($0.33 per acre). This gain would almost certainly be offset by the costs of developing such a community.
   

• Global impact of biotech crops: socio-economic and environmental effects in the first ten years of commercial use
  Graham Brookes and Peter Barfoot, PG Economics Ltd., Dorchester, UK
  
  Genetically modified (GM) crops have now been grown commercially on a substantial scale for ten years. This paper assesses the impact this technology is having on global agriculture from both economic and environmental perspectives. It examines specific global economic impacts on farm income and environmental impacts of the technology with respect to pesticide usage and greenhouse gas emissions for each of the countries where GM crops have been grown since 1996. The analysis shows that there have been substantial net economic benefits at the farm level amounting to $5 billion in 2005 and $27 billion for the ten year period. The technology has reduced pesticide spraying by 224 million kg (equivalent to about 40% of the annual volume of pesticide active ingredient applied to arable crops in the European Union) and as a result, decreased the environmental impact associated with pesticide use by more than 15%. GM technology has also significantly reduced the release of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, which, in 2005, was equivalent to removing 4 million cars from the roads.
   

• An analysis of McLean County, Illinois farmers' perceptions of genetically modified crops
  Nagesh Chimmiri, Kerry W. Tudor, and Aslihan D. Spaulding, Illinois State University
  
  McLean County, Illinois farmers were surveyed in order to explore their perceptions of biotechnology and genetically modified crops, and to analyze the relationships between those perceptions and choices regarding use of genetically modified crops. Statistical analyses revealed that perceptions could be used to distinguish between users and non-users of genetically modified crops, but the approach was more effective for past use than for planned use. Perceptions that were related to past use of genetically modified crops included satisfaction with the benefits of biotechnology, the perception that biotechnology would be beneficial to agriculture, and the perception that farmers were well informed and could easily obtain objective information about biotechnology. Perceptions of the agronomic and economic benefits of genetically modified crops, with the possible exception of Bt corn, were of limited use when distinguishing between users and non-users. Age, education, and farm size had limited impact on choices regarding genetically modified crops.
   

• Consumers willingness to pay for biotech foods in China: a contingent valuation approach
  William Lin, Agapi Somwaru, and Francis Tuan, US Department of Agriculture Jikun Huang and Junfei Bai, Chinese Academy of Sciences
  
  Based on a large-scale survey, this study employs the contingent valuation method to estimate consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for biotech foods in China and to account for the effects of respondents’ characteristics on the likelihood of purchasing biotech foods and WTP. The survey, covering 1,100 consumers in 11 small-to-large cities (including Beijing and Shanghai) along China's eastern coast, was conducted in the fall of 2002. Although the survey covers eight different kinds of biotech foods, soybean oil made from imported biotech soybeans and insect-resistant biotech rice are the focus. A majority—about 60% or higher—of respondents were willing to purchase biotech foods without any price discounts. However, about 20% of them would only accept non-biotech foods. Price premiums that respondents were willing to pay for non-biotech foods averaged about 23-53% for non-biotech soybean oil and 42-74% for non-biotech rice. The lower bound WTP comes closer to the true value in light of hypothetical bias associated with the contingent valuation method.
   

• Perceptions of genetically modified and organic foods and processes
  Jon C. Anderson, Minnesota Crop Improvement Association Cheryl J. Wachenheim, North Dakota State University, Fargo William C. Lesch, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks
  
  Both organic production and the use of biotechnology have increased dramatically over the past decade. This study contributes to existing work on consumer acceptance of these practices and the resulting products through the use of twin survey instruments. Respondents indicated their level of agreement with statements about genetically modified (GM) or organic processes and products in the construct areas of health, environment, ethics, and risk. Organic food was perceived as healthier and safer. Organic practices were perceived to be more environmentally sound. Respondents expressed some level of concern over the unknown effects genetic modification could have on the environment and society as a whole. However, participants in general felt the technology could be used effectively and valued some of the associated benefits.
   

• Bales and balance: a review of the methods used to assess the economic impact of Bt cotton on farmers in developing economies
  Melinda Smale and Patricia Zambrano, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Mélodie Cartel, Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Agronomie de Montpellier
  
  We assess 47 peer-reviewed articles that have applied stated economics methods to measure the farm-level impacts of Bt cotton in developing agriculture from 1996. We focus on methods, although findings are also contrasted and compared in qualitative terms. The central research question assessed by the articles reviewed is: what are the current and potential advantages of transgenic cotton with respect to yield, pesticide use, input cost, revenue and/or profits at the farm-level, by farm type, and geographical region? We find that, while the evidence is promising, the balance sheet remains inconclusive&mdashin part because of some methodological limitations and in part because institutional and political context, which is mutable and often ignored, shapes economic impacts, especially over the longer-term. Most often, the contextual factors that influence whether a new variety succeeds or fails are more critical than whether yield advantages can be demonstrated in on-farm trials.