Impact of Bt Maize Cultivation in Spain

Cultivation of genetically modified crops in the European Union (EU) remains very limited. Only Bt maize has been approved for cultivation, with Spain growing over 53,000 hectares of the crop in 2006. Bt maize, cultivated in 15 percent of Spain’s maize-growing areas, has been adopted by the country since its introduction in 1998. A study conducted by the European Commission Joint Research Center found that Bt maize produced variable impacts on maize yields in Spain, ranging from neutral to 12 percent yield increase (US $194 per ha per year).

The report used data from a survey carried out among 402 commercial maize farms in the Spanish provinces of Zaragoza, Lleida and Albacete. On average, growers of conventional maize applied 0.86 insecticide treatments per year to control borers versus 0.32 treatments per year applied by Bt maize growers. Reasons quoted by farmers for adopting Bt maize include lowering the risk of maize borer damage, obtaining higher yields and better quality of harvest. The report concludes that the differences in yields are attributable to the adoption of Bt maize varieties and not to differences in the socio-economic profiles or technical capability of the farmers surveyed.

Download the full report at http://ftp.jrc.es/EURdoc/JRC37046.pdf To view the report summary, visit http://ipts.jrc.ec.europa.eu/publications/pub.cfm?id=1580