Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
chemical pesticide reductions and higher
ef ective yields. h e average economic
benei ts for adopting farmers are sizeable.
Moreover, Bt crops bring about environ-
mental and health advantages. h ey are also
well suited for small-scale farmers when
they are embedded in a conducive insti-
tutional environment. In India, for instance,
Bt cotton contributes to more employment,
higher household incomes and poverty
reduction. In many cases, farmers in
developing countries benei t more from GM
crop adoption than farmers in developed
countries, due to weaker IPR protection and
dif erences in agroecological conditions.
GM technologies that are still in the
research pipeline (see Chapter 12) include
crops that are tolerant to abiotic stresses
and crops that contain higher amounts of
nutrients. h e benei ts of such applications
could eventually be bigger than the ones
already observed. Against the background of
a dwindling natural resource base and
growing demand for agricultural products,
GM crops could contribute signii cantly to
global food security and poverty reduction.
New technologies will have to play the main
role for the necessary production increases
in the future. So far, multinational com-
panies dominate GM crop developments,
mostly focusing on crops with large inter-
national markets. More public research and
public-private partnerships will be necessary
to ensure that technologies that are
particularly relevant for poor farmers and
consumers in developing countries are also
made available.
In spite of the large potential of GM
crops, the technology lacks public accept-
ance, especially in Europe (see Chapter 15).
Concerns about new risks and the lobbying
ef orts of anti-biotech groups have led to
complex and costly biosafety, food safety
and labelling regulations, which slow down
innovation rates and lead to a bias against
small countries, minor crops, and small
i rms and public research organizations.
Overregulation has become a real threat for
the further development and use of GM
crops. h e costs in terms of foregone bene-
i ts might be large, especially for developing
countries. h is is not to say that zero
regulation would be desirable, but the trade-
of s associated with regulation have to be
considered. In the wider public, the risks of
GM crops seem to be overrated, while the
benei ts are underrated.
1
Especially for India, there are still reports by
biotech critics that Bt cotton ruins smallholder
farmers. However, such reports do not build on
representative data. Gruère and Sengupta
(2011) showed that the occasional claim of a link
between Bt cotton adoption and farmer suicides
could not be substantiated.
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