United Kingdom
February 24, 2008Source:
Economic and Social
Research Council (ESRC)
Farmers are upbeat about
genetically modified crops, according to new research funded by
the Economic and
Social Research Council (ESRC).
A group at the Open University, led by Professor Andy Lane, has
taken the first systematic look at what large-scale, commodity
farmers - not those mainly involved in organic growing - think
about genetically-modified crops. We know how consumers,
governments and the food industry regard GM, but this is the
first proper look at the attitudes of the people who would use
GM crops.
Lane and his colleagues found that both farmers who have been
involved in GM crop trials and those who have not, regard GM as
a simple extension of previous plant breeding techniques, such
as those which have produced today's established crop types.
They regard GM crops as an innovation which they would assess on
its merits. Their real interest is in how GM crops would work in
practice and whether they can contribute to the profitability of
their farms. The research suggests that these farmers do not
think that GM raises any issues of principle, or that it is a
matter of right or wrong.
Professor Lane said: "New technology such as GM is attractive to
farmers. They want to produce high-quality food profitably and
they want to farm in an environmentally sensitive way. GM may
allow them to reconcile this conundrum by doing both of these
things at once."
A particular advantage of GM is its potential to allow farmers
to grow crops with high yields while using less herbicide. This
involves new management practices. Lane and his colleagues found
that farmers who have been involved in the Farm-Scale
Evaluations to assess GM in action have found GM crops feasible
to grow.
The researchers also looked at how farmers learn about new
developments such as GM. They found that most of the learning
farmers do is informal, for example by experimentation or from
their networks, which are made up from a wide range of people
not necessarily just farmers. These networks can extend over
long geographical distances.
Many farmers disapprove of past cuts in public funding for
agricultural advisory services. It is now complicated and
expensive for farmers to get good advice. They also feel that
there is poor communication between farmers and people involved
in agricultural policy, and between farmers and relevant
scientific research.
BACKGROUND
The research project 'Farmers
Understandings of GM crops within local communities' was
funded by the Economic and Social Research Council from the
ESRC Science in Society Programme. Professor Andy Lane and
Dr Sue Oreszczyn work at the Department of Development
Policy and Practice, Open University.
Methodology: This project used a relationship-building
approach that involved farmers as participants in the
research. It used discussion and mapping techniques to
discover and categorise farmers' views, and relied on
telephone and face to face meetings as well as a workshop
with farmers and other influential members of the farmers
networks. In total 30 farmers in the east and west of
England and 22 members of their networks were involved in
the study in various ways.
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