AgBioForum, vol. 10, no. 1 (2007)
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Item A Review of International Labeling Policies of Genetically Modified Food to Evaluate India's Proposed Rule(AgBioForum, 2007) Gruere, Guillaume P.; Rao, S. R.This paper provides a comprehensive review of existing international labeling policies of genetically modified (GM) food and associated relevant international agreements in order to evaluate India's proposed mandatory labeling rule. Existing evidence from developed countries shows that mandatory labeling regulations have resulted in no additional consumer choice or information. Among the few developing countries with labeling policies, most have not effectively implemented their regulations. We show that India's proposed labeling rules for GM food would be among the most stringent globally and could potentially result in low consumer benefits at a high cost both domestically and internationally. India's proposed regulation also lacks a number of elements to be implemented. However, these conclusions are based on experiences from other countries and limited available information from India. More studies are needed to evaluate the potential economic effects of GM food labeling in India.Item Inequality and GM Crops : A Case-Study of Bt Cotton in India(AgBioForum, 2007) Ismael, Yousouf; Morse, Stephen, 1957-; Bennett, Richard M.Critics of genetically modified (GM) crops often contend that their introduction enhances the gap between rich and poor farmers, as the former group are in the best position to afford the expensive seed as well as provide other inputs such as fertilizer and irrigation. The research reported in this paper explores this issue with regard to Bt cotton (cotton with the endotoxtin gene from Bacillus thuringiensis conferring resistance to some insect pests) in Jalgaon, Maharashtra State, India, spanning the 2002 and 2003 seasons. Questionnaire-based survey results from 63 non-adopting and 94 adopting households of Bt cotton were analyzed, spanning 137 Bt cotton plots and 95 non-Bt cotton plots of both Bt adopters and non-adopters. For these households, cotton income accounted for 85 to 88% of total household income, and is thus of vital importance. Results suggest that in 2003 Bt adopting households have significantly more income from cotton than do non-adopting households (Rp 66,872 versus Rp 46,351) but inequality in cotton income, measured with the Gini coefficient (G), was greater amongst non-adopters than adopters. While Bt adopters had greater acreage of cotton in 2003 (9.92 acres versus 7.42 for non-adopters), the respective values of G were comparable. The main reason for the lessening of inequality amongst adopters would appear to be the consistency in the performance of Bt cotton along with the preferred non-Bt cultivar of Bt adopters - Bunny. Taking gross margin as the basis for comparison, Bt plots had 2.5 times the gross margin of non-Bt plots of non-adopters, while the advantage of Bt plots over non-Bt plots of adopters was 1.6 times. Measured in terms of the Gini coefficient of gross margin/acre it was apparent that inequality was lessened with the adoption of Bunny (G = 0.47) and Bt (G = 0.3) relative to all other non-Bt plots (G = 0.63). Hence the issue of equality needs to be seen both in terms of differences between adopters and non-adopters as well as within each of the groups.Item Insect Resistance Management Plans : The Farmers' Perspective(AgBioForum, 2007) Alexander, CorinneFarmers are required to implement insect resistance management (IRM) plans for all Bt crops in order to reduce the probability that insects susceptible to Bt will develop resistance. These IRM plans require farmers to plant at least 20% of the corn acreage to a non-Bt hybrid, and in specific configurations. In order for IRM plans to be effective, farmers must correctly implement these refuge requirements both in terms of acreage and configuration. This article reports survey results which show that farmers believe refuges will be effective in managing resistance, but that they would not implement them if they were not required. The article also reports survey and focus group data on farmers' perceptions of each refuge configuration. These data show that farmers who have experience with implementing refuges report less time and effort associated with refuges, which is partly due to having learned how to implement refuges more efficiently.Item The Cost of Product Development of Bt Corn Event MON810 in the Philippines(AgBioForum, 2007) Manalo, Abraham J.; Ramon, Godfrey P.The estimated total cost of developing Bt corn MON810 in the Philippines is $2.6 million (128 million Philippine pesos) at 2004 discounted prices. This includes the entire process of product development, from concept initiation done in the US in 1985 to implementation of post-commercial approval requirements in 2004. Lindahl pricing was employed to allocate the share of total relevant cost incurred in the US to the Philippines. Costs were converted into corresponding 2004-year equivalents and capitalized using literature-recommended values to reflect baseyear real monetary value. The biggest costs were incurred in the conduct of post-commercial application activities followed by the 17 multi-location field trials across the country. Project spending was highest in 2002 when field trials and supporting studies were being completed and the product stewardship plan was being developed. The study discovered that two-thirds of total cost went into activities conducted in compliance and support of government regulatory requirements.Item The Long-Run Impact of Corn-Based Ethanol on the Grain, Oilseed, and Livestock Sectors with Implications for Biotech Crops(AgBioForum, 2007) Hayes, Dermot James; Hart, Chad E. (Chad Edward); Babcock, Bruce A. (Bruce Alan); Elobeid, Amani; Tokgoz, SimlaThe ongoing growth of corn-based ethanol production raises some fundamental questions about what impact continued growth will have on US and world agriculture. Estimates of the long-run potential for ethanol production can be made by calculating the corn price at which the incentive to expand ethanol production disappears. Under current ethanol tax policy, if the prices of crude oil, natural gas and distillers grains stay at current levels, then the break-even corn price is $4.05 per bushel. A multi-commodity, multi-country system of integrated commodity models is used to estimate the impacts if we ever get to $4.05 corn. At this price, corn-based ethanol production would reach 31.5 billion gallons per year. Supporting this level of production would require 95.6 million acres of corn to be planted. Total corn production would be approximately 15.6 billion bushels, compared to 11.0 billion bushels today. Most of the additional corn acres come from reduced soybean acreage. The demand for biotech corn varieties that allow for continuous corn production would increase dramatically as would the demand for corn, soybean and wheat varieties that can be grown in marginal areas.