Biotech Crops Boost Incomes, Raise Living Standards Around the World
Council for Biotechnology Information
July 30, 2007
Excerpt…
Farmers of all types — from an Amish tobacco farmer in the United States to a corn farmer in the Philippines — continue to embrace biotech crops because they help improve living standards.
Amish farmer Daniel Dienner says he earns nearly twice as much planting a biotech nicotine-free tobacco as he would planting a conventional variety — $1.50 per pound vs. 80 cents per pound. Meanwhile, Filipino farmer Edwin Paraluman says he earns about 50 percent more by planting biotech corn than he did growing conventional varieties.
Their experience is shared by farmers from around the world. Perhaps the most telling statistic about the economic benefits of biotech crops is how quickly these global farmers have embraced the new technology.
An estimated 8.25 million farmers in 17 countries now plant biotech crops — up from 7 million farmers in 18 countries in 2003, according to the nonprofit International Association for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA).
"This is an unwavering and resolute vote of confidence in the technology from … farmers, who are masters in risk aversion and have consistently chosen to plant an increasing hectarage of biotech crops year after year after year," wrote ISAAA chair Clive James in a January 2005 report, "Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2004."2
Farmers have adopted the technology so quickly for several simple reasons: Biotech crops improve yields, cut costs and reduce spraying. Not only do these benefits improve farmers' bottom lines, but they also save time — improving their quality of life by giving them more time to spend with their families and to pursue other activities.
A study by a University of Minnesota food and trade policy analyst reported that the global commercial value of biotech crops in the 2003-2004 crop year was US$44 billion — a value that is expected to grow to $210 billion by the end of the decade.
"As far as complex traits such as drought tolerance are concerned, Australian breeders are reliant on the important work of Syria-based Australian researcher Dr Ken Street and his colleagues, who sample genetic resources from the world's original cereal crops for use in breeding," he said.
Dr Street, a scientist with the International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA), told today's Agriculture Australia conference that genetic resources were vital for economic sustainability and food security – "a major understated threat from global warming".
"This is a survival issue: for many people around the world it means avoiding starvation; for farmers in countries like Australia it means economic survival," he said.
…
Full article at Council for Biotechnology Information.
