AgBioForum, vol. 19, no.2 (2016)
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Item Economic and regulatory barriers to biofuel growth in Canada(University of Missouri, 2016) Lubieniechi, Simona; Smyth, StuartThrough their diverse range of economic, environmental, and policy impacts, biofuels and their use have been routinely polarized by the mass media and in the academic literature. Although the body of literature investigating macro and microeconomic biofuel effects is rapidly growing, there is no clear depiction of the Canadian biofuel industry. Our research identifies the leading economic and regulatory barriers that presently exist for the Canadian biofuel industry. A modified expert Delphi survey was used to collect qualitative information from Canadian public-sector biofuel researchers and private-sector industry managers. The top three barriers to the development of biofuels in Canada include the absence of a coordinated and integrated federal-provincial policy framework, the technical capacity for scale-up is currently lagging, and the lack of integration between the increased use of biofuels and sustainability.Item The political economy of genetically modified maize in Kenya(University of Missouri, 2016) Nagarajan, Latha; Naseem, Anwar; Pray, CarlGenetically modified (GM) crops have never been approved for commercialization in Kenya, but debates on their suitability have been going on for more than a decade. In this article we explore these debates in the context of GM maize in Kenya to better understand the positions of the different groups, and whether there is scope for policy change that would lead to the cultivation of GM crops. We evaluate the economic and political motives of groups that are likely to lobby against or for the GM crop cultivation, such as different types of farmers and consumers, local and foreign seed companies, grain processors, and environmental groups. A multimarket economic surplus approach is employed to estimate disaggregated benefits. The results of the surplus analysis modeling is evaluated in the context of the wider GM crop debate in Kenya and the stated positions of the different stakeholders.Item Organic versus GM agriculture in the courtroom in Australia and the United States(University of Missouri, 2016) Blakeney, MichaelThis article looks at two 2014 cases concerning the threat to organic farming from genetically modified (GM) agriculture. The first, March v. Baxter in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal of Western Australia, concerned a dispute between two neighboring farmers in which one claimed that the loss of his organic certification was attributed to the harvesting practices of his GM-producing neighbor. The second, Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association et al. v. Monsanto, concerned an unsuccessful application by a number of farmers' organizations in the United States seeking a declaration that, should their crops become contaminated by the adventitious presence of patented genetic material, they should not be sued for patent infringement. The Australian case, which was a world's first between neighboring farmers, made some useful comments on organic certification practices. The US decisions in the Southern District of New York and the Court of Appeals laid to rest some of the concerns that had been raised in the Canadian Schmeiser case about the liability of farmers for innocent patent infringement.Item When do resistance management practices pay for the farmer and society? The case of Western Corn Rootworm(University of Missouri, 2016) Miranowski, John A.; Lacy, Katherine M.The Bt trait to control Western Corn Rootworm (WCR) in transgenic corn was first introduced in 2003. By 2014, about 80% of corn planted contained a Bt trait, significantly reducing corn insecticide use. This rapid and widespread adoption has led to resistance development in some Bt alleles. The near-term solutions to resistance development include voluntary adoption of resistance management practices (RMPs) including crop rotations, chemical controls, and development of new Bt alleles and other control technologies. Our results indicate that if the farmer goal is to maximize net returns or longer-term net present value per acre, crop rotations always dominate continuous corn. We also consider possible spillovers of resistance on neighboring farmers from mobile WCR. Generally, we conclude that this should not be a serious issue, especially if neighbors use RMPs.Item Evaluation of economic, land use, and land-use emission impacts of substituting non-GMO crops for GMO in the United States(University of Missouri, 2016) Taheripour, Farzad; Mahaffey, Harry; Tyner, Wallace E.The main objective of this study was to evaluate potential economic and environmental consequences of losing GMO traits in the United States for the major crops of corn, soybeans, and cotton. The first step was to obtain from the literature a range of estimates of the yield losses if we move away from GMO traits in the United States. The second step was to calculate the weighted average GMO and non-GMO area to get the overall shock value. The third step was to introduce the yield losses obtained into a well-known CGE model, GTAP-BIO, to quantify the land use and economic impacts of banning GMO traits in the United States. Absent the GMO technology, more land would be needed to produce corn, soybeans, and cotton. That land comes from switching from other crops and conversion of cropland pasture, pasture, and forest in many global areas. The land expansion likely is similar to the entire US ethanol program. Furthermore, induced land-use emissions were significantly larger than the corresponding figure for US corn ethanol. We evaluated three cases representing different levels of yield shocks. The price changes for corn were as high as 28% and for soybeans as high as 22%. In general, the price increases for two of the three cases were higher than those observed previously for the US ethanol mandate shocks. Food cost changes in the United States amount to $14-$24 billion per year. As expected, welfare falls both in the United States and globally.