Costs and Benefits of Transgenic Crops in South Asia

A new publication on "Economic and environmental benefits and costs of transgenic crops: Ex-Ante assessment" highlights the economic impacts of transgenic insect resistant (Bt) eggplant, drought and salt-tolerant (DST) rice, late blight resistant (LBR) potato, tobacco streak virus resistant (TSVR) groundnut and sunflower in India; and insect resistant (Bt) eggplant, late blight resistant (LBR) potato, pod borer resistant (PBR) chickpea, and DST rice in Bangladesh. The projected economic and environmental benefits based on ex-ante assessment are significant for all the products under development in both countries. The largest projected benefits are for DST rice which is more than $3 billion for India and more than $100 million for Bangladesh. All of the transgenic products are projected to earn high returns based on the ex-ante assessment and summaries shown in the following table. Projected impacts of transgenic crops in India and Bangladesh cover over 15 years.

The publication is compiled by the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore and supported by the Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project (ABSP-II) of the USAID. For a copy of the publication contact Dr. KN Selvaraj of the TNAU, Coimbatore at selvarajkn@yahoo.co.in.  For more information on biotech developments in India contact: b.choudhary@isaaa.org