GM Crops: The First Ten Years - Global Socio-Economic and Environmental Impacts (ISAAA Briefing No. 36). (2006)

This paper is relevant to the Agronomic, Socio-Economic, and Environmental categories in the following areas:

Abstract or Summary:

This study presents the findings of research into the global socio-economic and environmental impact of GM crops in the ten years since they were first commercially planted on a significant area. It focuses on the farm level economic effects, the environmental impact resulting from changes in the use of insecticides and herbicides, and the contribution towards reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It concludes that GM technology has delivered several specific agronomic traits that have overcome a number of production constraints for many farmers. This has resulted in improved productivity and profitability for the 8.5 million adopting farmers who have applied the technology to over 87 million hectares in 2005. During the last ten years, this technology has also made important positive socio-economic and environmental contributions. These have arisen even though only a limited range of GM agronomic traits have so far been commercialised, in a small range of crops.

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