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The economic impact of genetically modified cotton on South African smallholders: Yield, profit and health effects

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  • Richard Bennett
  • Stephen Morse
  • Yousouf Ismael

Abstract

Results of a large-scale survey of resource-poor smallholder cotton farmers in South Africa over three years conclusively show that adopters of Bt cotton have benefited in terms of higher yields, lower pesticide use, less labour for pesticide application and substantially higher gross margins per hectare. These benefits were clearly related to the technology, and not to preferential adoption by farmers who were already highly efficient. The smallest producers are shown to have benefited from adoption of the Bt variety as much as, if not more than, larger producers. Moreover, evidence from hospital records suggests a link between declining pesticide poisonings and adoption of the Bt variety.

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  • Richard Bennett & Stephen Morse & Yousouf Ismael, 2006. "The economic impact of genetically modified cotton on South African smallholders: Yield, profit and health effects," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(4), pages 662-677.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:42:y:2006:i:4:p:662-677
    DOI: 10.1080/00220380600682215
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    1. Qaim, Matin & de Janvry, Alain, 2002. "Bt Cotton In Argentina: Analyzing Adoption And Farmers' Willingness To Pay," 2002 Annual meeting, July 28-31, Long Beach, CA 19710, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    2. Thirtle, Colin & Beyers, Lindie & Ismael, Yousouf & Piesse, Jenifer, 2003. "Can GM-Technologies Help the Poor? The Impact of Bt Cotton in Makhathini Flats, KwaZulu-Natal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 717-732, April.
    3. Beyers, Lindie & Thirtle, Colin G., 2003. "Can Gm-Technologies Help African Smallholders? The Impact Of Bt Cotton In The Makhathini Flats Of Kwazulu-Natal," 2003 Annual Meeting, August 16-22, 2003, Durban, South Africa 25922, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Orr, Alastair, 2003. "Integrated Pest Management for Resource-Poor African Farmers: Is the Emperor Naked?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 831-845, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Sydorovych, Olha & Marra, Michele C., 2007. "A Genetically Engineered Crop's Impact on Pesticide Use: A Revealed-Preference Index Approach," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 32(3), pages 1-16, December.
    2. Ragasa, Catherine, 2012. "Gender and Institutional Dimensions of Agricultural Technology Adoption: A Review of Literature and Synthesis of 35 Case Studies," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126747, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    3. Smyth, Stuart J. & Falck-Zepeda, Jose & Ludlow, Karinne, 2016. "The Costs of Regulatory Delays for Genetically Modified Crops," Estey Centre Journal of International Law and Trade Policy, Estey Centre for Law and Economics in International Trade, vol. 17(2), pages 1-23, December.
    4. Klara Fischer & Camilla Eriksson, 2016. "Social Science Studies on European and African Agriculture Compared: Bringing Together Different Strands of Academic Debate on GM Crops," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-17, August.
    5. Robert Finger & Nadja El Benni & Timo Kaphengst & Clive Evans & Sophie Herbert & Bernard Lehmann & Stephen Morse & Nataliya Stupak, 2011. "A Meta Analysis on Farm-Level Costs and Benefits of GM Crops," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 3(5), pages 1-20, May.
    6. Jeffrey Vitale & Marc Ouattarra & Gaspard Vognan, 2011. "Enhancing Sustainability of Cotton Production Systems in West Africa: A Summary of Empirical Evidence from Burkina Faso," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 3(8), pages 1-34, July.
    7. Stephen Morse & A.M. Mannion, 2009. "Can genetically modified cotton contribute to sustainable development in Africa?," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 9(3), pages 225-247, July.
    8. Evita Pangaribowo & Nicolas Gerber & Pascal Tillie, 2013. "Assessing the FNS impacts of technological and institutional innovations and future innovation trends," FOODSECURE Working papers 11, LEI Wageningen UR.
    9. Raney, Terri & Matuschke, Ira, 2010. "Genetically Modified Crops In Developing Countries: Back To The Future," 14th ICABR Conference, June 16-18, 2010, Ravello, Italy 188106, International Consortium on Applied Bioeconomy Research (ICABR).
    10. Gouse, Marnus, 2013. "Socioeconomic and farm-level effects of genetically modified crops: The case of Bt crops in South Africa," IFPRI book chapters, in: Falck-Zepeda, Jose Benjamin & Gruère, Guillaume P. & Sithole-Niang, Idah (ed.), Genetically modified crops in Africa: Economic and policy lessons from countries south of the Sahara, chapter 1, pages 25-41, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    11. Gouse, Marnus & Sengupta, Debdatta & Zambrano, Patricia & Zepeda, José Falck, 2016. "Genetically Modified Maize: Less Drudgery for Her, More Maize for Him? Evidence from Smallholder Maize Farmers in South Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 27-38.
    12. Mahaffey, Harry & Taheripour, Farzad & Tyner, Wallace E., 2016. "Evaluating the Economic and Environmental Impacts of a Global GMO Ban," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235591, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    13. Klara Fischer & Elisabeth Ekener-Petersen & Lotta Rydhmer & Karin Edvardsson Björnberg, 2015. "Social Impacts of GM Crops in Agriculture: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(7), pages 1-23, July.
    14. Suntornpithug, Pasu & Kalaitzandonakes, Nicholas G., 2009. "Understanding the Adoption of Cotton Biotechnologies in the US: Firm Level Evidence," Agricultural Economics Review, Greek Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 10(1), pages 1-17.

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