Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
coldness (see also Chapter 1). Climate
change (Reynolds, 2010) is associated with
more frequent weather extremes, so that
more tolerant GM crops can help reduce the
risks of crop failures and food crises.
Furthermore, research is under way to
develop crops with higher nutrient ei -
ciency, especially with respect to nitrogen
and phosphorus. Nutrient-ei cient crops
will reduce chemical fertilizer use and the
associated environmental problems in
intensive agricultural production systems,
while they will contribute to yield gains in
regions where fertilizers are currently
underused, as in large parts of sub-Saharan
Africa. Some of these traits are genetically
complex, so that commercialization may not
be expected in the short run. But in the
medium and long run, the contribution to
food security could be sizeable (Qaim, 2011;
see also Chapter 1).
grown and consumed, micronutrient
dei ciencies could be reduced, entailing
important health advantages and economic
benei ts. Qaim
et al
. (2007) suggested a
framework for evaluating the potential
benei ts: since micronutrient malnutrition
caused signii cant health costs, which could
be reduced through biofortii cation, they
quantii ed the health costs with and without
biofortii ed crops and interpreted the
dif erence - that is, the health cost saved -
as the technological benei t.
In their
ex ante
analysis of the impact of
Golden Rice, Stein
et al
. (2008) used
representative household data from India to
show that this technology could reduce the
health costs of vitamin A dei ciency by up to
60%. h ey also calculated a high cost-
ef ectiveness of Golden Rice, which com-
pared favourably with other micronutrient
interventions such as food supplementation
or industrial fortii cation.
Signii cant economic and health benei ts
can also be expected for other biofortii ed
crops, like iron and zinc dense staple foods
or crops containing higher amounts of
essential amino acids (Qaim
et al
., 2007; De
Steur
et al
., 2012; see Chapters 7 and 12).
h e high potential cost-ef ectiveness of
biofortii cation is due to the fact that the
approach is self-targeting to the poor, with
biofortii ed seeds spreading through exist-
ing formal and informal distribution
channels. However, possible issues of
consumer acceptance have to be considered.
And, especially when no price premium is
paid in the output market, suitable strategies
to convince farmers to adopt biofortii ed
crops are needed. A combination of nutri-
tional traits with interesting agronomic
traits might be a practicable avenue.
Nutritionally enhanced GM crops that
researchers are working on include oilseeds
with improved fatty acid proi les or staple
foods with enhanced contents of essential
amino acids, minerals and vitamins (see
Chapters 7 and 12). Enhancing food crops
with higher nutrient contents through
conventional breeding or GM approaches is
also called biofortii cation (Qaim
et al
.,
2007). A well-known example of a GM
biofortii ed crop is Golden Rice, which
contains signii cant amounts of provitamin
A. Golden Rice could become available in
some Asian countries in 2013 or 2014
(Beyer, 2010; see Chapters 12 and 13).
Biofortii ed crops do not involve direct
productivity and income ef ects for farmers
or consumers, so the benei ts need to be
evaluated dif erently. Especially in develop-
ing countries, micronutrient dei ciencies are
widespread. Children and women in poverty
households are particularly af ected. Adverse
health outcomes include impaired physical
and mental development, higher incidence
of infectious diseases and premature deaths.
If biofortii ed staple crops were widely
GM crops have been used commercially for
over 15 years. So far, mostly HT and Bt crops
have been employed. Available impact
studies show that these crops are benei cial
to farmers and consumers. While HT crops
lead to cost savings in weed control and
tillage operations, Bt crops entail signii cant
