Economic Impact of GM Maize Cultivation: Room for Coexistence Costs

The European Union's decision to introduce labelling thresholds for the adventitious presence of genetically modified (GM) material in non-GM products, necessary to safeguard consumer choice, paved the way for a regulated coexistence between GM and non-GM crops. The potential economic impact of ensuring this coexistence through agronomic or organisational measures can occur at the level of individual farms. Based on survey data from 402 commercial Spanish farmers, this paper calculates the economic gains attributed to the adoption of Bt maize during 2002-2004. In this period there was no mandatory implementation of measures to ensure coexistence, since these were still under discussion by regulators. We found that on average Bt maize growers obtained ¿81 per hectare more on average than conventional maize growers. We conclude that the maximum coexistence cost that Bt maize growers will be willing to incur before switching to conventional maize or to an alternative crop, will be around that figure.

GOMEZ BARBERO Manuel;  RODRIGUEZ CEREZO Emilio; 

2008-03-04

OPOCE

JRC40119

http://teamwork.intbase.com/0703_03/conference.php,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC40119,