PG Economics: GM Crops Continue to Provide Positive Impacts

Crop biotechnology continues to deliver significant economic and environmental benefits, allowing farmers in developing countries to grow more with fewer resources, according to PG Economics report.

"In 2013, the 18th year of widespread adoption of crops using biotechnology innovations, the technology has continued to provide more productive agriculture, higher incomes to farmers and a better environment for citizens. A majority of these benefits continues to go to farmers and rural communities in developing countries," said Graham Brookes, PG Economics Director and co-author of the report. The other author of the report is Peter Barfoot, also the Director of PG Economics.

The highlights of the report include the following:

• GM crops enabled the farmers to grow more without using additional land. Without biotechnology, farmers would have needed 44.7 million acres of more land (equivalent to 11% of arable land in the US) to get the same yield.
• Biotechnology helped farmers produce improved yields. With the use of insect resistant crops, 11.7% more corn, 17% more cotton and 10% more soybeans were produced.
• GM crops planting practices helped reduce tilling and greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to removing 12.4 million cars off the road.