Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
farmers growing Bt maize or conventional varieties in the same region,
not only the area grown with specific varieties is a point of interest but
also the percentages of farmers that are influenced by neighboring Bt
maize fields. The simulations in model region I indicate that already with
a low adoption rate of 10 percent for Bt maize farmers, a substantial part
of the farmers growing non-GM varieties (around 19 percent to 25 per-
cent) might be influenced by cross-pollination of neighboring Bt maize
fields. If adoption of Bt maize increases to 30 percent, this figure rises to
around half of the “conventional” farmers and to more than three quar-
ters in case of a 50 percent adoption rate of Bt maize (Table 6).
Comparing the results of model region II (with lower relevance of
maize in crop rotation) with those of model region I, it can be observed
that regions with low maize cultivation show lower affection rates with
respect to conventional maize areas, fields, and farms. In model region
II, affection rates for isolation distances of 20-m range from 1 percent to
3 percent over all Bt maize adoption levels regarding the affected con-
ventional maize area. In analogy to the results observed in model region
I, the percentage of influenced farms is substantially higher than those of
affected areas ranging from 13 percent (in case of 10 percent Bt adop-
tion and 20-m isolation distance) to 66 percent (if we have a 50 percent
Bt maize adoption rate and 100-m isolation distance) (Table 7).
3.1 EconomicImpactofBufferZones
According to the Recommendations on coexistence measures of the
European Commission of July 2003 the GM farmers are responsible for
applying and bearing the costs of coexistence measures (Commission of
the European Communities, 2003). Spatial isolation of GM and non-GM
crops is regarded as being an effective measure of decreasing adventi-
tious presence by cross-pollination: Farmers have to maintain an isola-
tion distance (or “buffer zone”) between GM and non-GM crops. This
could result in a reorganization of fields used for production of a specific
crop and may lead to a reduction of the total area used for production
