Dr. Eduardo Trigo, a senior independent Researcher with the Forges Foundation and CEO Group has recently published the Report on the Economic Impact after 15 years of GM Crops in Argentina. According to the study, the gross benefits generated by adoption of biotech crops between 1996 to 2010 reaches 72,363 million US dollars. In other crops, benefits were enumerated as follows:

• Glyphosate‐tolerant soybean, the benefits mounted to 65,153 million US dollars, 3,231 million attributable to a reduction in production costs (mainly due to less tillage and reduced applications of selective herbicides required by conventional varieties) and 61,917 million due to the expansion of the planted area. Total benefits were distributed as: 72.3% to farmers, 21.3% to the National Government– collected through export tax and other taxes – and 6.5% to technology providers (seeds and herbicides).
• Maize, insect resistance and herbicide tolerance technologies gave benefits for a total amount of 5,375 million US dollars, distributed as follows: 68.2% to growers, 11.4% to the National Government and 20.4% to technology providers (mainly seeds).
• Insect‐resistant and herbicide‐tolerant cotton, total benefits reached 1,834 million US dollars that went mainly to farmers (96%), with 4 % going to technology providers (seeds and herbicides).

"The biotechnology adoption process in Argentine agriculture has been undoubtedly very successful", said Gabriela Levitus, Executive Director of ArgenBio. "Not only because our products have been competitive and the international prices have been good, but also because when this technology was made available, the country was ready to adopt it. There were world class breeders, trained and innovative farmers and there was the political will that resulted in the creation of a pionner regulatory system, which guaranteed the safe adoption of GM crops in our country from the start."

To see the original news article, check http://www.argenbio.org/adc/uploads/15_anos_Estudio_de_cultivos_GM_en_Argentina.pdf