Print This PageBiotechnology Benefits
The benefits of biotechnology are real and compelling, demonstrated by the fact that farmers worldwide are adopting the technology at a rapid rate.
Biotech crops are delivering farm-level benefits, making farmers more productive and profitable as well as having significant, positive impacts on the global environment.
A new, peer-reviewed study by UK based economists Graham Brookes and Peter Barfoot quantifies the cumulative economic and environmental impacts of biotech crops grown during the past 11 years (1996 – 2006).
Key findings of the report were:
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Since 1996, farmers have reduced the use of pesticides in biotech crops by 286 million kilograms; a reduction of 8%
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Biotech crops have made a significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural practices; 14.8 million kg of carbon dioxide since 1996. This is the equivalent of removing almost 7 million cars from the road for one year
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Farmers adopting biotechnology earned higher incomes in every country where biotech crops are grown
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Higher productivity with biotech crops resulted in additional volumes of soybeans, corn, cotton and canola
