http://www.ids.ac.uk/go/news/gm-crops-ten-years-on-the-undying-promise
GM Crops Ten Years On: The Undying Promise
At an
Current thinking on GM crops and the poor
In the last couple of years, government ministers, journalists and commentators have depicted transgenic (GM) crop technology as a vital tool for feeding an expanding global population. These influential voices are aware that GM technology is intensely controversial. They also know that one of the reasons for the controversy is the widely held suspicion that GM crops have been designed to benefit the biotechnology industry and could actually undermine the livelihoods of poor farmers in the developing world. However, they now think that there is a good news story to be told about GM crops in developing countries. They believe that their confidence is backed up by the encouraging conclusions reached by a number of academic studies that have been published in respectable peer-reviewed journals. Those studies have been interpreted by some analysts as showing that GM crops have proved to be broadly beneficial for poor farmers in places like
New analysis reveals a more complex picture
Detailed analysis of the studies in question reveals a rather more complex and mixed picture – one that should strongly qualify any claim that ‘GM crops are good for the poor’. Certainly, some farmers have benefited from the new technology, but others, especially smaller and poorer farmers, have not. The data also confirms that the impacts of GM technology depend on an awful lot more than one or a few new genes inserted into a crop plant.
Key facts lost in translation?
An intriguing gap has opened up between the story revealed in data collected from farmers’ fields and the ways in which that data has been interpreted and represented to policy makers and the general public. It seems there is a marked reluctance by some people to let go of the alluring promise of GM crops as a biotechnological quick fix for the problems of hunger, poverty and underdevelopment.
The Archive, working paper, material from today’s event, plus new Eldis and id21 GM resources are all available on the Steps Centre website.
Dominic Glover is a Post-doctoral Fellow in theTechnology and Agrarian Development Group, Wageningen University, NL.
On Wednesday 10 June, three speakers from SPRU Science and Technology Policy Research, Wageningen University and the University of East Anglia spoke at a meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Debt, Aid and Trade on the often controversial topic of genetically-modified (GM) crops and their potential to counteract the global problems of poverty and hunger. The event marked the launch of a new paper by one of the speakers, Dominic Glover, entitled ‘Undying Promise: Agricultural Biotechnology’s Pro-poor Narrative, Ten Years on’, which is a critical review of the available evidence on Bt cotton’s effectiveness in improving the incomes of poor farmers.
The example of Bt cotton
Glover began the debate, which was chaired by the Countess of Mar. There has been, he felt, a ‘triumphalism’ amongst advocates of GM crops, and too little attention paid to the environmental, social and political context surrounding their use. Glover has kept track of the evidence on Bt cotton, which he feels has been distorted, leading to the risk of poor policy decisions being made on the basis of insufficient facts.
His paper reviews the literature that has been published in peer-reviewed journals on Bt cotton. In it he explains that there are a number of limits to the potential usefulness of Bt cotton. It protects against pests, but will not improve yield in those years when pests are not a problem – and in fact, in those years yield might even be less than with other seeds. It has a marginal impact on pesticide use, and has been shown in some studies to have less impact than farmer training. There is concern that secondary pests might increase in numbers to fill the ‘ecological gap’, which would mean the benefits are not sustainable. There is a chance poor farmers could suffer financially if they spend extra on Bt cotton, and then lose the crop anyway to a different pest.
Overall the impacts of Bt cotton have been diverse and contingent; but this is not what one would gather from some authors’ summaries of their work. The impacts are not, as has been claimed, necessarily significant, consistent or even positive. There is the allure of the technological ‘quick fix’; when a product is preconceived as effective and successful it can be tempting to swim with the tide rather than against it.
The complex problems of hunger and poverty need complex answers. There is a danger that a focus on GM crops could crowd out other possibilities, such as integrated pest management systems or irrigation, in the fight for donor dollars and government attention. Glover finished by emphasising that he was not in any way anti-science, or event anti-GM, but calling for careful research which takes account of policy and institutional frameworks.
Context matters
The next speaker was Erik Millstone of SPRU. He began by setting out the question as he sees it; namely not ‘is GM beneficial?’ but ‘under what circumstances are GM crops beneficial?’ Millstone said that there are examples in which GM could be very beneficial; for instance, if crops could be made unattractive to locusts.
He explained that in order for GM to benefit poor farmers, it would have to be very low cost. Making GM crops the same price as other seeds is too high; he spoke to farmers in
ty but can amplify inequalities.
A solution in search of a question?
Peter Newell of the
ead, we need to be realistic about which technologies can best address the issues faced by poor farmers.
Related Audio
10 06 2009 GM Crops and the Global Food Crisis presentations
Recording of the three presentations from this event.
GM Crops and the Global Food Crisis presentations
http://cdn1.libsyn.com/ids/GM_Crops_and_the_Global_Food_Crisis_-_Presentations.mp3?nvb=20090615132727&nva=20090616133727&t=02088fa3f73fded516ba1
10 06 2009 GM Crops and the Global Food Crisis full event recording
Recording of the whole event including questions and answers;
GM Crops and the Global Food Crisis full event recording
http://cdn4.libsyn.com/ids/Gm_Crops_and_the_Global_Food_Crisis_full_event_with_questions.mp3?nvb=20090615132723&nva=20090616133723&t=05d4493723aa6719563a8
10 06 2009 GM Crops and the Global Food Crisis Glover presentation
Recording of Dominic Glover’s presentation.
GM Crops and the Global Food Crisis Glover presentation
http://cdn4.libsyn.com/ids/GM_Crops_and_the_Global_Food_Crisis_Glover_presentation.mp3?nvb=20090615132720&nva=20090616133720&t=0e8354acdf93b88ef439d
10 06 2009 GM Crops and the Global Food Crisis Millstone presentation
Recording of Erik Millstone’s presentation. GM Crops and the Global Food Crisis Millstone presentation
http://cdn1.libsyn.com/ids/GM_Crops_and_the_Global_Food_Crisis_Millstone_presentation.mp3?nvb=20090615132717&nva=20090616133717&t=04109c9de0c7b33ab5f7b
10 06 2009 GM Crops and the Global Food Crisis Newell presentation
Recording of Peter Newell’s presentation.
GM Crops and the Global Food Crisis Newell presentation
http://cdn2.libsyn.com/ids/GM_Crops_and_the_Global_Food_Crisis_Newell_presentation.mp3?nvb=20090615132537&nva=20090616133537&t=0b6d0930ebc34d071bab7
Related Publications
Glover, D (2009) ‘Undying Promise: Agricultural Biotechnology’s Pro-poor Narrative, Ten Years on’, STEPS Working Paper 15, Brighton:
http://www.ids.ac.uk/index.cfm?objectid=C97B86EE-FCA3-C1B2-48B554D0FDCFF75A
Glover, D. (2009) ‘Transgenic cotton: A ‘pro-poor’ success?’, STEPS Briefing 15
http://www.ids.ac.uk/index.cfm?objectid=C970CE17-DAAF-EDEB-CE91D36E25A285A5
Related Links
STEPS Biotechnology Research Archive http://www.steps-centre.org/ourresearch/gm.html