In a press release by PG Economics, biotech crops on its sixteenth year of commercialization has delivered an unparalleled level of farm income benefits to farmers and provided considerable environmental benefits to countries planting biotech crops. Close to $100 billion global farm income has been gained during the 16 period due to yield gains from lower pest and weed pressure and improved genetics, and reduced cost of production.

"Where farmers have been given the choice of growing GM crops, adoption levels have typically been rapid. Why? The economic benefit farmers realize are clear and amounted to an average of over $130/hectare in 2011," said Graham Brookes, director of PG Economics and co-author of the report. "The majority of these benefits continue increasingly go to farmers in developing countries. The environment is also benefiting as farmers increasingly adopt conservation tillage practices, build their weed management practices around more benign herbicides and replace insecticide use with insect resistant GM crops. The reduction in pesticide spraying and the switch to no till cropping system is continuing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture."

The press release and the full report can be viewed at http://www.pgeconomics.co.uk/page/35/.