IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i23p16187-d1285084.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Overcoming Agricultural Challenges with GMOs as a Catalyst for Poverty Reduction and Sustainability in Lebanon

Author

Listed:
  • Richard J. Roberts

    (New England Biolabs, Ipswich, MA 01938, USA
    1993 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine—Fellow of the Royal Society—Chief Scientific Officer.)

  • Viviane Naimy

    (Department of Accounting and Finance, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Notre Dame University—Louaize, Zouk Mosbeh P.O. Box 72, Lebanon)

Abstract

This study assesses the potential impact of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on poverty reduction and agricultural development in Lebanon, against a backdrop of economic crisis and agricultural uncertainties. GMO adoption is considered a viable strategy to enhance food security, spur economic growth, and alleviate poverty. Simulating various GMO adoption scenarios, specifically in the apple agriculture sector of Mount Lebanon’s Sannine–Baskinta area, this research examines their effects on poverty rates. The findings demonstrate a substantial reduction in poverty rates, from 55% to 36%, with a simulated GMO adoption rate of 70%, underscoring the transformative potential of GMOs in poverty alleviation. The study highlights the critical importance of well-informed decision-making and evidence-based policymaking to address challenges in the agriculture sector. It serves as a foundational pilot project for the introduction of genetically modified crops in Lebanese agriculture, with a focus on the Sannine–Baskinta region. The identified GMOs offer prospects for enhanced resilience to weather conditions and pests, reduced pesticide usage, elimination of chemical fertilizers, increased yield, and improved nutritional value. Future research endeavors aim to extend the project to encompass other crops and regions in Lebanon, as well as in other Arab countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard J. Roberts & Viviane Naimy, 2023. "Overcoming Agricultural Challenges with GMOs as a Catalyst for Poverty Reduction and Sustainability in Lebanon," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-14, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:23:p:16187-:d:1285084
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/23/16187/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/23/16187/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hera, Cristian & Popescu, Ana, 2011. "Biotechnology and Its Role for a Sustainable Agriculture," Journal for Economic Forecasting, Institute for Economic Forecasting, vol. 0(2), pages 55-63, June.
    2. Hielscher, Stefan & Pies, Ingo & Valentinov, Vladislav & Chatalova, Lioudmila, 2016. "Rationalizing the GMO debate: The ordonomic approach to addressing agricultural myths," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 13(5), pages 1-10.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pies, Ingo, 2017. "Replik: eine interdisziplinäre Verständigung ist schwierig, aber möglich und lohnend," Discussion Papers 2017-07, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Chair of Economic Ethics.
    2. Elena Rosculete & Elena Bonciu & Catalin Aurelian Rosculete & Elena Teleanu, 2018. "Detection and Quantification of Genetically Modified Soybean in Some Food and Feed Products. A Case Study on Products Available on Romanian Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-13, April.
    3. Sendhil Mullainathan & Andrei Shleifer, 2005. "The Market for News," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(4), pages 1031-1053, September.
    4. Pies, Ingo & Valentinov, Vladislav, 2017. "Brauchen wir NGOs?," Discussion Papers 2017-06, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Chair of Economic Ethics.
    5. Felix Carl Schultz & Ingo Pies, 2024. "The circular economy growth machine: A critical perspective on “post‐growth” and “pro‐growth” circularity approaches," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 28(1), pages 17-24, February.
    6. Sacha Altay & Marlène Schwartz & Anne-Sophie Hacquin & Aurélien Allard & Stefaan Blancke & Hugo Mercier, 2022. "Scaling up interactive argumentation by providing counterarguments with a chatbot," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 6(4), pages 579-592, April.
    7. Steven E. Wallis & Vladislav Valentinov, 2017. "A Limit to Our Thinking and Some Unanticipated Moral Consequences: A Science of Conceptual Systems Perspective with Some Potential Solutions," Systemic Practice and Action Research, Springer, vol. 30(2), pages 103-116, April.
    8. Pies, Ingo, 2022. "30 Jahre Wirtschaftsethik: Zur Entwicklung des ordonomischen Forschungsprogramms," Discussion Papers 2022-02, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Chair of Economic Ethics.
    9. Vladislav Valentinov, 2019. "The Ethics of Functional Differentiation: Reclaiming Morality in Niklas Luhmann’s Social Systems Theory," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 155(1), pages 105-114, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:23:p:16187-:d:1285084. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.