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closeCosts associated with GM seed
Posted by zuni on 20 Mar 2016 at 00:37 GMT
Perhaps I overlooked something in this study, but I do not see where the actual cost of seed was investigated. If the cotton is replanted yearly, and GM seed cannot be saved for reseeding, the cost of planting cotton might have a negative effect on household income. But if the seed is provided to these farmers at little or no cost, perhaps through some sort of subsidy, it would certainly affect the study results.
RE: Costs associated with GM seed
mqaim replied to zuni on 20 Mar 2016 at 19:59 GMT
The costs of Bt seeds are more expensive than the costs of conventional seeds in India. The farmers included in our study had purchased Bt seeds at prevailing market prices; they had not been subsidized through the research project. Hence, our finding that Bt-adopting farm households have higher calorie intakes and better nutrition – even after controlling for possible confounding factors – is clear evidence that Bt technology causes benefits in spite of higher seed prices. That is, the positive profit effects of Bt adoption resulting from lower crop damage and lower expenditures for chemical pesticides more than outweigh the higher costs of Bt seeds. In this paper, we were particularly interested in the nutrition effects of Bt technology adoption, as these had not been analyzed before. In the following two previous publications we had analyzed effects on farmer profits and seed prices more explicitly (bot are available open access):
Kathage, J., M. Qaim (2012). Economic Impacts and Impact Dynamics of Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) Cotton in India. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 109: 11652-11656. (http://www.pnas.org/conte...)
Sadashivappa, P., M. Qaim (2009). Bt Cotton in India: Development of Benefits and the Role of Government Seed Price Interventions. AgBioForum 12: 172-183. (http://www.agbioforum.org...)