Biotech crops increase farmer sustainability

Biotech crops help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the use of pesticides – in addition to increasing yields for many farmers while reducing production risk, according to a study released this week.

In other words, biotech crops help farmers produce more with less – and that’s good on the sustainability front.

The study was completed by PG Economics – and you can find a summary and link to the full report here.

Graham Brookes, director of PG Economics and co-author of the report, had this to say:

Since 1996, biotech crop adoption has contributed to reducing the release of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, decreased pesticide spraying and significantly boosted farmers’ incomes. ... The technology has also made important contributions to increasing the yields of many farmers, reducing production risks, improving productivity and raising global production of key crops.

The combination of economic and environmental benefit delivery is therefore making a valuable contribution to improving the sustainability of global agriculture, with these benefits and improvements being greatest in developing countries.

If farmers who used biotech were not able to, in 2007 it would have taken an additional 14.6 million acres of soybeans, 7.4 million acres of corn, 6.2 million acres of cotton and 0.7 million acres of canola just to produce the same sized crop. (This total area requirement is equivalent to about 6 percent of the arable land in the U.S. or 23 percent of the arable land in Brazil!)

That's a of land that would need to be tilled if we dropped the use of biotechnology.

On the greenhouse gas front, the report said biotech crops mean less tilling and less fuel use. In 2007, that was equivalent to removing 14.2 billion kg of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere -- or like removing nearly 6.3 million cars from the road for a year.

Some other points:

• Biotech crops have reduced pesticide spraying (1996-2007) by 8.8 percent.
• Herbicide tolerant biotech crops have facilitated the adoption of no/reduced tillage production systems in many regions, especially South America.
• There have been substantial net economic benefits at the farm level amounting to $10.1 billion in 2007 and $44.1 billion for the 12 year period.
• Of the total farm income benefit, 46.5% ($20.5 billion) has been due to yield gains, with the balance arising from reductions in the cost of production.
• Farmers in developing countries obtained the largest share of the farm income gains in 2007 (58%) and over the 12 year period obtained 50% of the total ($44.1 billion) gains.
• Since 1996, biotech traits have added 67.8 million tonnes and 62.4 million tonnes respectively to global production of soybeans and corn.