Biotech Updates

Policy Issues in Adoption of Bt Cotton in West Africa

February 20, 2009

A socio-economic impact assessment of the potential adoption of insect resistant cotton in West Africa forwards two distinct recommendations. One is that governments in West Africa need to identify and promote appropriate incentives to choose the best from technology alternatives. The second is the need to identify and mitigate policy and institutional constraints that may limit the proper technology deployment in West Africa. These recommendations were forwarded by Jose Falck-Zepeda and colleagues in "Policy and Institutional Factors and the Distribution of Economic Benefits and Risk from the Adoption of Insect Resistant (Bt) Cotton in West Africa."

The study used an economic surplus model to consider risk and parameter uncertainty. Changes in parameters such as technology fees, regulatory lags, and adoption patterns are important in shaping response to and distribution of Bt cotton technology.

Email Jose Zepeda at j.falck-zepeda@cgiar.org or read the article in the Asian Biotechnology and Development Review, Volume 11, No. 1 issue.