Farm Compliance

Washington, DC - A new study by the British research firm PG Economics has found that raising biotech crops contributes to environmental and economic sustainability. Farmers in 25 countries are seeing increased yields, improved productivity and higher revenues due to agricultural biotechnology. The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) has been a leading advocate for using technology to boost yield and help feed and fuel the world.

“It’s great to see the expanding awareness worldwide of the benefits of biotechnology,” said NCGA Biotech Working Group Chairman Rob Korff. “It is rewarding to have confirmation that other countries are experiencing the same environmental and yield benefits we have been achieving in the U.S. Being able to aggressively expand yields, cut greenhouse gases, feed a growing world and keep our food coming from family farms is a terrific contribution.”

According to the report, farmers have experienced a gain of $44.1 billion over the 12-year period since technology was introduced to the market. Additionally, the study found biotech crops reduce tillage of biotech crops, which removes the equivalent of 8 billion pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. And with biotech, farmers use less pesticides.

“As we continue to see the global adoption of biotech crops, we are also seeing a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and a decreased need for pesticide spraying,” says Graham Brookes, director of PG Economics, co-author of the report. “A record 13.3 million farmers in 25 countries are using agricultural biotechnology. These farmers are seeing increased yields and improved productivity, and they are enjoying gains in incomes as a result.”

While Europe has been slow to embrace biotech, corn growers in the United States were already planting nearly half their acres with biotech seed in 2004 and dedicated 80 percent of corn acres to biotech in 2008.

According to the study, use of biotech crops has contributed to environmental stability in a number of ways, including:

• Reducing global release of greenhouse gas emissions from ag practices. This results from less fuel use and added soil carbon storage from reduced tillage of biotech crops. In 2007, this was equivalent to removing about 8 billion pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, or the equivalent of taking 6.3 million cars off the road for a year.
• Reducing the need for pesticide spraying. From 1996 through 2007, global pesticide applications fell by about 700 million pounds, or 8.8 percent – which is about 125 percent of all the pesticide active ingredient used in the European Union. The study also asserts that the global environmental impact was to cut herbicide and insecticide use by 17.2 percent.
• Providing substantial net economic benefits at the farm level. Those gains added up to about $10.1 billion in 2007 and $44.1 billion for the 12-year period since the technology was introduced to the market. Farm income gains in 2007 are the same as adding 4.4 percent of the value of global production of the four main biotech crops of soybeans, corn, canola and cotton. Of the total farm income benefit, the report notes 46.5 percent has been due to yield gains, with the rest coming from reduced costs.