Washington, DC
January 27, 2009
Source:
The Council for
Biotechnology Information
by Ross Korves, Economic Policy Analyst with
Truth About Trade &
Technology and the former Chief Economist for the
American Farm Bureau.
 As
the World Economic Forum prepares to convene in Davos,
Switzerland, to discuss the global economic crisis,
an
advanced report* outlines the grim challenges ahead for the
world, including warnings of weather-related disasters
disproportionately affecting subsistence farming and the threat
of drought to food security.
But the report also holds out the hope that the economic crisis
will motivate nations to increase cooperation and adopt policies
that better address the current threats.
It is my hope that the discussions at Davos and beyond will lead
to greater adoption of agricultural biotechnology to boost
productivity and increase the economic security and standard of
living for farmers.
For struggling farmers — especially in developing countries —
the benefits of biotechnology crops are apparent. Buying or
renting more land or taking an off-farm job to increase family
income is usually not an option. Their only hope is to increase
yields per acre, increase efficiency and lower input costs.
Biotech seeds or plant cuttings are a scale-neutral technology
allowing farmers of all resource levels and economic backgrounds
to share in the benefit from their use.
Increased net incomes for farmers mean additional money to
support education and health spending and allow farmers to have
more time for family activities. In addition, biotech seeds
create greater long term economic stability by reducing
production uncertainty from insect infestations and disease.
In developed countries farmers were first attracted to
herbicide-tolerant crops to lower weed competition for water and
sunlight and to reduce the need for herbicides.
Herbicide-tolerant crops also enable conservation tillage
programs that leave crop residue on the surface to reduce water
and wind erosion and lower fuel use by tractors.
Cotton producers using insect-resistant biotech varieties cut
insecticide applications by half, lowering human exposure to
insecticides and reducing the impact on beneficial insects.
In Brazil, the cost of insecticide for cotton can be up to 40
percent of total production costs with as many as 14
applications per year; biotech cotton can reduce costs by
$40-120 per acre for farmers. Farmers in Brazil and Argentina
also use minimum tillage systems to increase double cropping
(producing two crops in one year) — soybeans after winter wheat
in Argentina and winter corn after summer soybeans in central
Brazil.
Four million limited-resource farmers in India, most of them
living on $1-2 per day, and 7 million limited-resource farmers
in China grow biotech cotton. Studies in India show that cotton
yields increased 30-60 percent while the number of pesticide
sprayings declined by 50 percent from an average of 3-7 times
per year. Net income increased by $30-100 per acre, a 50-100
percent increase. In China, which has higher yields than India,
biotech cotton increased yields by 10 percent, reduced
insecticide use by 60 percent and increased incomes by $90 per
acre.
In South Africa, insect-resistant hybrid corn yields about 30
percent more than regular hybrids. Adoption of biotech maize,
soybeans and cotton has contributed to an estimated increase of
U.S. $156 million in farm income.
In the Philippines, 125,000 resource-limited farmers grow an
average of five acres of biotech corn, with several studies
showing increased net income of $50-75 per acre with minor
reductions in pesticide costs.
In addition, the next generation of biotech crops is being
developed to increase the yield of commodity crops and help
plants use water more efficiently, alleviating two of the
growing threats — high food prices and water scarcity — to
global stability.
Agriculture has long been tied to the economic propensity of
nations. Today more than ever there is a dire need for a long
term commitment to agricultural research, particularly to
research in agricultural biotechnology.
Over 12 million farmers in 23 countries — more than 90% of whom
are resource-limited farmers in the developing world — are
already planting biotech crops. But for the world to succeed in
addressing the threats facing it, governments, on their own and
working through multilateral institutions and foundations, need
to invest significant new funds in agricultural biotechnology
and adopt polices that increase farmers' access to biotech
crops.
*
Global Risks 2009, January 13, 2009
The Council for Biotechnology
Information communicates science-based information about the
benefits and safety of agricultural biotechnology and its
contributions to sustainable development. For more information,
visit www.whybiotech.com.
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