Italian Farmers Lose USD 475 M Annually By Not Being Allowed to Grow GM Corn
February 19, 2010| |
According to Futuragra, a pro-biotech farmers' organization in Italy, Italian farmers lose an estimated €175 (USD 273) to €400 (USD 543) per hectare because they are not allowed to grow Bt corn, resulting in total annual losses of €150 million (USD 203 million) to €350 million (USD 475 million). The EU Council of State has recently ordered the Italian Ministry of Agriculture to permit biotech cultivation. This threw into relief the financial implications of prohibiting biotechnology, says a new report by the US Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS). Bt corn has been approved for environmental release in the European Union since 1998. However, cultivation of the GM corn is prohibited in Italy.
If Futuragra's estimates are correct and Italian farmers lose €400 per hectare for growing conventional varieties, then the total loss to farmers in Italy due to the prohibition on Bt corn alone since 1998 is estimated at €5.1 billion (USD 6.9 billion).
After the Council of State's favorable ruling, observers feared that Minister of Agriculture Luca Zaia would defy the ruling and maintain Italy's prohibition on biotech crops. Should the Ministry of Agriculture do so, Futuragra said that it will file a class-action lawsuit demanding that compensation be given for the attacks of pests that biotech seeds could prevent.
Download the report at http://gain.fas.usda.gov/Recent%20GAIN%20Publications/The%20Financial%20Cost%20to%20Corn%20Growers%20of%20Italy%27s%20Ban%20on%20Biotechnology_Rome_Italy_2-11-2010.pdf
| |
Biotech Updates is a weekly newsletter of ISAAA, a not-for-profit organization. It is distributed for free to over 22,000 subscribers worldwide to inform them about the key developments in biosciences, especially in biotechnology. Your support will help us in our mission to feed the world with knowledge. You can help by donating as little as $10.
-
See more articles:
-
News from Around the World
- First Global Conference on Agric Research for Development
- Experts Say "Radically ReThink Agriculture"
- New Public-Private Collaboration Aims to Develop High Yielding Maize for Africa
- Improved Maize Varieties Give West and Central African Farmers Hope
- African, Arab Ministers Meet on Action Plan to Improve Agricultural Productivity
- NEPAD Biosafety Network Approves 2010 Work Plan
- Arcadia Receives Fund to Continue Research on Wheat with Reduced Celiac Disease Potential
- Hongkong to Enact GMO Regulation
- Bangladeshi Agric Minister: Encourage Farmer to Adopt Modern Technology
- India's Minister of Agriculture Backs GM Crops for Food Security
- Switzerland Extends Moratorium on GM Crops
- Italian Farmers Lose USD 475 M Annually By Not Being Allowed to Grow GM Corn
- Biological Method to Control Pathogenic Fusarium oxysporum Strains
-
Research Highlights
- Study Demonstrates Evolutionary Link between Plants and Humans
- New Insights on the Molecular Basis of Plant Immune Response
- Researchers Pinpoint Genes that Control Growth of Root Hairs
-
Announcements
- Biosafety Scholarships
- International Conference on Agri-biotech in Developing Countries
-
Resources
- Book on Gene Flow Between Crops and Wild Relatives
- Workshop Report on ERA of GM Crops
-
Read the latest: - Biotech Updates (April 24, 2024)
- Gene Editing Supplement (April 24, 2024)
- Gene Drive Supplement (February 22, 2023)
-
Subscribe to BU: - Share
- Tweet