crop development Articles
-
A survey of factors involved in crop maturity
The time necessary for crops to successfully complete reproduction is species and environment dependent. Lifecycles can be completed in a few weeks or take several years depending on the plant species. Crop development is divided into phenophases that are affected primarily by light and temperature changes, interacting with phytohormones. Some species are influenced more by light and others by ...
-
Living the promise? The role of the private sector in enabling small-scale farmers to benefit from agro-biotech
Biotechnology and transgenetic crops (tGMOs) hold great promises as part of integrated solutions for poor and small-scale farmers. The private sector, which to date controls most releases of tGMOs globally, has combined philanthropy and commercialisation to this end. Yet few benefits have materialised. This narrative paper surveys and provides a framework for how multinational companies transfer ...
-
Changing intellectual property regimes: implications for developing country agriculture
The revolutions in biotechnology and intellectual property protection began in the developed world. The USA led the global transformation of intellectual property protection, and has been the leader in commercialisation of biotechnology in agriculture. Now all members of the World Trade Organization are committed to offer intellectual property protections for agriculture. Will the benefits of ...
-
Transgenic crops, EU precaution, and developing countries
Agricultural biotechnologies have the potential to offer higher incomes for farmers in developing countries and lower-priced and better-quality food, feed and fibre. That potential is being heavily compromised, however, because of strict regulatory systems in the European Union and elsewhere governing transgenically modified (GM) crops. This paper examines why the EU has taken the extreme ...
-
The GMO experience in North and South America
This paper surveys the level and distribution of economic impacts of GMOs in the Americas from 1996–2004. Key institutional factors influencing GMO diffusion are discussed. In 2004 the Americas accounted for 94% of world GMO area. Diffusion has been concentrated; four countries, four crops and two traits account for the vast majority of area. The economic benefits of the diffusion of GMOs have ...
-
Are genetically modified (GM) crops a commercial risk for Africa?
What risks might Africa face if it decided to plant genetically modified (GM) agricultural crops? A rough calculation based on current export profiles for one sampling of eastern and southern African countries suggests that the commercial export risks incurred outside of Africa would be quite small. Most of Africa's exports of goods that might be considered GM currently go to other African ...
-
A GM subsistence crop in Africa: the case of Bt white maize in South Africa
The Republic of South Africa (RSA) is the first developing country to plant genetically modified staple food – Bt white maize. The following paper describes the development and spread of Bt maize in RSA that started in 1998. After that, based on surveys of 33 large commercial Bt maize farmers and 368 smallholders in 2001/2, it shows that Bt maize gives higher yields for both groups and reduces ...
-
Introduction: Global actors, markets and rules driving the diffusion of genetically modified (GM) crops in developing countries
The theme of this special issue – genetically modified (GM) crops – goes to the heart of the process of globalisation, technology and development. This introductory essay explains how this new technology is being driven by the actors (multinational corporations), markets (large global markets) and rules (intellectual property) of globalisation. But it is also shaped by the other national and ...
-
Bt-cotton and production risk: panel data estimates
The farm-level success of Bt-cotton in developing countries is well documented. However, the literature has only recently begun to recognise the importance of accounting for the effects of the technology on production risk, in addition to the mean effect estimated by previous studies. The risk effects of the technology are likely very important to smallholder farmers in the developing world due ...
-
The economic impact of transgenic crops in developing countries: a note on the methods
A vast literature has accumulated since crop varieties with transgenic resistance to insects and herbicide tolerance were released to farmers in 1996 and 1997. A comparatively minor segment of this literature consists of studies conducted by agricultural economists to measure the farm-level impact of transgenic crop varieties, the size and distribution of the economic benefits from adopting them ...
-
An analysis of Bt corn's benefits and risks for national and regional policymakers considering Bt corn adoption
This paper examines important factors for policymakers to consider when making a decision to adopt Bt corn planting and commercialisation, by analysing the market, environmental, and health benefits and risks of Bt corn as well as current regulatory policies that may affect trade. Bt corn, genetically modified to produce a pesticidal protein, has benefits that include improved yield, decreased ...
-
Agricultural innovation and biotechnology development towards sustainable goals: can we make it more pro-poor?
Agriculture continues to change – driven by innovation and new technology. Genetics and breeding have revolutionised agricultural systems, and the 'Green Revolution', based on higher yielding varieties of dwarf wheat and rice, is arguably the greatest achievement in food crop development. Gene technologies now offer additional opportunities, where new traits improving crop protection ...
-
Agrobiotechnology choices in developing countries
Today's agrobiotechnology revolution - especially the move toward transgenic or genetically modified (GM) crops - is being researched, commercialised, and (hotly) debated mostly in Europe, the USA, and elsewhere within the rich industrial world. Yet it is in the developing countries where the greatest human and environmental promise - or peril - of this new technology may lie. This paper argues ...
-
Asia–Pacific Analysis: Plan for growth in biotech crops
South-East Asian nations should follow the Philippines down the path to biotech crops for food security, argues Crispin Maslog. Since biotechnology-derived crops were introduced in 1996, they have been adopted at an unprecedented rate, according to the 2011 annual report of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) released earlier this year. [1] There ...
By SciDev.Net
-
Impact of Bt cotton on farmer livelihoods in South Africa
The economic benefits of Genetically Modified (GM) crops in developing countries have been well documented, but little research has been undertaken to date on the impacts of GM adoption on household livelihoods. The research reported here aimed to assess the livelihood impacts of the adoption of Bt cotton in South Africa., and involved 100 interviews of resource-poor farmers growing Bt cotton in ...
-
Is genetically engineered technology a good alternative to pesticide use: the case of GE eggplant in India
Are pesticides used efficiently in eggplant cultivation? Is Genetically Engineered (GE) eggplant a good alternative to pesticide use? Building on the literature on damage control specification for production functions, we estimated the pesticide productivity for eggplant, using data from a farm-level survey conducted in Maharashtra, India. Even though the intensity of pesticide use by Open ...
-
Crop gene banks are preserving the future of agriculture. But who’s preserving them?
As climate change makes crop diversity even more important, gene banks struggle to stay afloat. During the past few years of civil war in Syria, rebel fighters have destroyed Shia mosques and Christian graves, and burned and looted Christian churches while the Islamic State group has demolished priceless artifacts in the region. Nothing seemed sacred to the disparate groups vying for control of ...
By Ensia
-
Self-seeded cereal cover crop effects on interspecific competition with corn
Perpetuating cereal cover crops through self-seeding may increase adoption by reducing risk and cost. Winter rye (Secale cereale L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), and triticale (x Triticosecale Wittmack) were used to develop self-seeding cover crop systems in a soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]–corn (Zea mays L.) rotation. Cereal cover crops were planted in varying row spacing configurations and ...
-
Investing in people and evidence for sustainable farming
Evaluation of farming systems, new ideas and learning with practitioners should be part of a transformed agriculture. Food security is difficult to pin down. It can be explained simply as access to enough food. But behind that simplicity lies an interconnected web of factors — from food prices to agricultural practices, nutrition, natural resources, technology, trade and social ...
By SciDev.Net
-
The problems with the arguments against GM crops
New evidence shows that arguments against GM crops are unfounded, says Margaret Karembu. The year 2013 marked the 18th consecutive year of commercial cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or now commonly referred to as biotech crops. And in just under two decades, the volume of land on which biotech crops are grown has increased from 1.7 million hectares in 1996 — the first ...
By SciDev.Net
Need help finding the right suppliers? Try XPRT Sourcing. Let the XPRTs do the work for you