European Commission's Joint Research
Centre produces the first large-scale
study on the agronomic and economic
performance of a genetically modified
crop cultivated in the EU
The Joint Research Centre's Institute
for Prospective Technological Studies
has today, 24 June, 2008 released the
results of a face-to-face survey with
402 maize farmers in Spain - the largest
EU producer (75,148 hectares) followed
by France (21,174), the Czech Republic
(5,000), Portugal (4,199), Germany
(2,685), Slovakia (900) and Romania
(350). The aim of the study is to
obtain, for the first time, data on the
agronomic and economic performance of Bt
corn during three growing seasons (2002
– 2004), while also looking at the
socioeconomic
profile of farmers who adopted Bt maize
versus those who did not.
Entitled the "Adoption and performance
of the first GM crop introduced in EU
agriculture: Bt maize in Spain", the
survey was conducted in the three
leading Bt corn-growing regions (Aragon,
Catalonia and Castilla-La Mancha), which
accounted for 90% of the Bt maize
growing area of Spain in 2006. Farmers
involved from three provinces within
these regions - Zaragoza, Lleida and
Albacete - were producing Bt maize for
feed manufacturing.
Survey results
- Survey results show that farmers adopting Bt maize experienced higher average yields than conventional maize growers.
- These higher yields were, however, statistically significant only for the province of Zaragoza (1,110 kg/hectare or 11,8%).
- No differences were found in the price paid to farmers for Bt or conventional maize.
- Bt maize growers paid more for the seeds than conventional growers, but had reduced insecticide use and costs.
- On average, growers of conventional maize applied an average of 0.86 insecticide treatments per year to control pests, versus an average 0.32 per year applied by Bt maize growers.
- All things considered, the impact of Bt maize adoption on gross margin obtained by farmers in different provinces ranged from neutral to €122 per hectare, per year.
- The reason most quoted by farmers in the survey for adopting Bt maize was "lowering the risk of maize borer damage" followed by "obtaining higher yields".
- "Better quality of the harvest" is also quoted as a reason for cultivating Bt maize, because of reductions in maize ear damage by pests.
Finally, the report compared the
socio-economic profiles of farmers
adopting and not adopting Bt maize
varieties.
No statistical differences were found
between the two groups of farmers for
such variables as land ownership, farm
size, main crop cultivated, age,
education, agricultural training or
years of experience as a maize grower.
The report concludes that differences in
yields and margins are attributable to
the adoption of Bt maize varieties and
not to the socio-economic profiles of
farmers surveyed.
Future research
There are few reports on the economic
performance of Bt maize in other parts
of the world. For the United States, the
largest grower, on-farm evidence is
limited to the early years of adoption
(1997 – 1999). The JRC's report
constitutes the first large-scale,
empirically based estimation of the
economic impact of a GM crop for EU
farmers.
Future socioeconomic analyses of GM
crops need to consider the costs
incurred by farmers adopting GM crops to
ensure coexistence with non-GM crops.
Most EU Member States are now drafting
or adopting specific coexistence
measures for GM crop cultivation.
Background information
The only GM crop currently available to
EU farmers for cultivation, Bt maize was
authorised by the European Union in
1997. Bt maize is a genetically modified
variety expressing the insecticidal
protein from the soil bacterium Bacillus
thuringiensis, and genetically resistant
to borer attacks. Maize borers are the
most damaging maize pests in Spain.
Bt maize was first planted in Spain in
1998 on 20,000 hectares. By 2007, this
had grown to over 75, 148 hectares,
equivalent to about 20% of the country's
maize-growing area. Bt maize is the
second GM crop worldwide after GM
soybeans in terms of cultivation area.
Further information
The JRC's Institute for Prospective
Technological Studies, located in
Seville, Spain has published this and
several other reports on the
socio-economic aspects of genetically
modified crops:
http://ipts.jrc.ec.europa.eu
The report can be downloaded at:
http://ipts.jrc.ec.europa.eu/publications/pub.cfm?id=1580
The main findings of this report have
also been published in the April 2008
issue of
Nature Biotechnology (Bt corn in
Spain - the performance of the EU's
first GM crop. Vol. 26, No. 4, pp – pp
384 – 386).