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Environmental and Production Benefits Drive Greater Demand for
Biotech Crops
Farmers Experience Year-on-Year Improvements From Biotech
Crops
WASHINGTON DC - As a result of increasing benefits from
biotechnology-derived (biotech) crop varieties, farmers are adopting
the technology with greater ease than ever before, according to a
new study update released by the National Center for Food and
Agricultural Policy (NCFAP).
In 2004, U.S. farmers planted biotech crops on 118 million
acres, an increase of 11 percent over the previous year. Compared
to conventional crops, biotech varieties increased food production
by 6.6 billion pounds, a 24 percent improvement from 2003, and
provided $2.3 billion in additional net returns for U.S. growers, a
21 percent increase from the previous year.
Biotech crops also reduced pesticide use by an additional 34
percent, or 15.6
million pounds. Pesticide use dropped by 15.6 million from 2003 to
2004.
"After nine years of commercialization, the benefits of biotech
crops are
self-evident, and growers are responding to better yields and greater
financial return by further increasing the number of acres planted
to these
varieties," said Jill Long Thompson, Ph.D., and Chief Executive
Officer of the
National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy. "Obviously, these
crops
have demonstrated great benefits to growers, but what we're seeing
now is the
significant extent to which these benefits increase each year."
The study examined 11 case studies of six biotech crops planted
in the
United States in 2004 -- corn, soybean, cotton, papaya, canola and
squash --
and is based on data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
National
Agricultural Statistics Service and surveys of crop specialists from
various
universities.
According to the study, insect-resistant crops again produced
the greatest
yield increase among the crops studied, improving food and fiber
production by
6.5 billion pounds. While insect-resistant traits increased
production,
herbicide-resistant varieties generated the greatest reduction in
production
costs by reducing the amount of pesticide needed and lowering costs
associated
with hand weeding and mechanical cultivation. Herbicide-resistant
varieties
cut costs by $1.8 billion and reduced pesticide use by 55.5 million
pounds.
Regionally, Midwestern states of Iowa, Nebraska, Indiana,
Illinois and
Minnesota experienced the greatest benefits from biotech crops.
Iowa farmers
experienced the largest increase in farm income ($266 million) and
the
greatest reduction in pesticides (9.1 million pounds annually).
Donna Winters, who grows biotech cotton, corn and soybean on her
farm in
Lake Providence, La., has personally experienced the benefits of
growing
biotech crops. Winters said adopting the technology not only helps
her
operation remain profitable, but also lessens agriculture's
environmental
footprint.
"When biotech crops were first commercialized, many farmers were
interested in trying out the new varieties, and now we're realizing
more
benefits with each year of planting," said Winters. "In my
operation, biotech
crops have improved my profitability by 5 to 10 percent because I
can spend
less money on inputs while boosting production by 10 to 15 percent.
Many
production factors vary each year, but we are able to sustain
improved
profitability and yield by using biotechnology despite those
variances. Most
importantly, planting biotech varieties promotes conservation farming
practices, which is important to me because I want my grandchildren
to
continue farming on our land."
While the economic and production benefits have been
significant, biotech
crops also make growers confident they can control weeds while
reducing the
need to plow the land. Farmers who practice "no-till" farming leave
their
soil undisturbed, thereby reducing soil erosion and pesticide
runoff. No-till
cotton acreage increased in the United States by 371 percent in
2004, while
soybean and corn no-till acres increased by 64 and 20 percent,
respectively.
"Farmers want to be good stewards of the land because it is the
source of
their livelihood," said Sujatha Sankula, Ph.D., and lead author of
the study.
"Biotech crops have helped them make great strides and adopt
conservation
tillage practices, which not only reduces erosion but also decreases
greenhouse gas emissions that result from cultivating the soil."
The study is an annual update of a 2002 report by NCFAP that
analyzes,
quantifies and documents the agronomic, economic and environmental
impacts of
biotech crops on U.S. agriculture. The complete
study, "Biotechnology-Derived
Crops Planted in 2004 - Impacts on U.S. Agriculture," is available
on the
Internet at http://www.ncfap.org .
The National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy is a
private,
nonprofit, non-advocacy research organization based in Washington,
D.C.
Established in 1984 at Resources for the Future, the center became an
independent organization in 1992. Researchers at the National Center
for Food
and Agricultural Policy conduct studies in four program areas:
biotechnology,
pesticides, U.S. farm and food policy and international trade and
development.
NCFAP receives funding from public and private institutions,
including
government agencies, philanthropic organizations, private
corporations and
others.
SOURCE National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy
Web Site: http://www.ncfap.org
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