Physician and molecular biologist Henry I. Miller cautioned India against stifling the cultivation of biotech crops, pointing out that India has already reaped significant economic and environmental benefits by using the technology. “Following the adoption of the genetically improved varieties and intensive crop management practices of the Green Revolution, from 1960 to 2000 India’s wheat yields increased more than three-fold,” he stated.

“During the past decade, widespread adoption of an insect-resistant, genetically engineered crop called Bt-cotton has drastically reduced the use of chemical pesticides in cotton fields, enhanced food security and improved farmers’ bottom line,” he noted in The Wall Street Journal. Miller, who is a fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, added that economists Graham Brookes and Peter Barfoot estimate that the pest-resistant Bt-cotton boosted India’s economy by $9.4 billion between 2002 and 2010 and by $2.5 billion in 2010 alone. Read more.

Crop biotechnology has continued to provide important economic and production gains, improved incomes and reduced risk for farmers around the world, according to the seventh annual report on crop biotechnology impacts prepared by UK-based PG Economics. More than half (55 percent) of the 2010 farm income gains went to farmers in developing countries, 90 percent of whom are resource-poor smallholders, the report said.

“The advantages of advanced seed technology for farmers in developing countries come at a time when food availability is becoming more of an issue around the world,” said Dr. Cathleen Enright, executive director of the Council for Biotechnology Information (CBI). 

“The population continues to grow, but for many farmers, their ability to produce food remains stuck in the past,” she said. “In order to double food production by 2050 to meet demand, new seed technologies must be utilized.  READ MORE »