Study on Perceptions of Brazilian Farmers Regarding GM Crops

Several studies have been conducted to know the views of consumers regarding genetically modified (GM) crops, while the attention given to the perceptions of farmers about GM crops has been limited. Thus, Carla Almeida and Luisa Massarani, researchers from Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Brazil, investigated the perceptions of Brazilian farmers on GM crops.

Results of their survey were compared with the findings of other research on farmer perceptions on GM crops. They found that there is a complex variety of views on GM crops among farmers. Despite this diversity, variations in such views occur within limited parameters, concerned principally with expectations or concrete experiences regarding the advantages of GM crops, perceptions of risks associated with them, and ethical questions they raise.

The researchers proposed a classification of prevailing profiles to represent the spectrum of perceptions of GM crops among farmers.

Read more from the research article published in Public Understanding of Science.