Insect-resistant GM rice in farmers' fields: assessing productivity and health effects in China.
Although no country to date has released a major genetically modified (GM) food grain crop, China is on the threshold of commercializing GM rice. This paper studies two of the four GM varieties that are now in farm-level preproduction trials, the last step before commercialization. Farm surveys of randomly selected farm households that are cultivating the insect-resistant GM rice varieties, without the aid of experimental station technicians, demonstrate that when compared with households cultivating non-GM rice, small and poor farm households benefit from adopting GM rice by both higher crop yields and reduced use of pesticides, which also contribute to improved health.
Huang
Jikun
J
Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy, Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resource Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jia 11, Datun Road, Beijing 100101, China. jkhuang.ccap@igsnrr.ac.cn
Hu
Ruifa
R
Rozelle
Scott
S
Pray
Carl
C
D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods; D000818:Animals; D001413:Bacillus thuringiensis / Q000235:genetics; D002681:China; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000191:economics; D030841:Food, Genetically Modified / Q000191:economics; D006262:Health; D006801:Humans; D009036:Moths; D012275:Oryza / Q000191:economics / Q000235:genetics; D010575:Pesticides / Q000191:economics / Q000633:toxicity; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D012044:Regression Analysis
D010575:Pesticides