Author: Guillaume Gruère, Debdatta SenguptaPublisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 40
Book Description
Biosafety Decisions and Perceived Commercial Risks: The Role of GM-Free Private Standards
Author: Guillaume Gruère, Debdatta SenguptaPublisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 40
Book Description
Biosafety Decisions and Perceived Commercial Risks
Author: Guillaume P. GruèrePublisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 30
Book Description
"We herein investigate the observed discrepancy between real and perceived commercial risks associated with the use of genetically modified (GM) products in developing countries. We focus particularly on the effects of GM-free private standards set up by food companies in Europe and other countries on biotechnology and biosafety policy decisions in food-exporting developing countries. Based on field visits made to South Africa, Namibia, and Kenya in June 2007, and secondary information from the press and various publications, we find 31 cases of interactions between private GM-free standards and biosafety policy decisions in 21 countries. Although we cannot infer the direct involvement of supermarkets and food companies in biosafety policy processes in developing countries, we find that by setting up GM-free standards, these actors are indirectly influential via their local traders, who face the possibility of exclusion if they do not comply with the standards. Organic producers' and anti-GM organizations also play a role in spreading perceptions of commercial risks that are not always justified. By comparing cases, we differentiate three types of relevant commercial risks: real risks, potential risks, and unproven risks. We then identify two critical, yet misleading, presumptions perpetuated by the various interest groups to spread the fear of potential or unproven risks: the infeasibility of non-GM product segregation and the lack of alternative buyers. We also find that information asymmetries and risk-averse behaviors related to perceived market power can help insert unfounded export concerns into biosafety or biotechnology policy decisions. The results of our analysis are used to suggest a simple framework to separate real commercial risks from others, based on five critical questions designed to aid decision makers when they face pressures to reject GM crop testing, application, consumption or use for fear of alleged export losses. " --from authors' abstract.
Farmers Health Status, Agricultural Efficiency, and Poverty in Rural Ethiopia: A Stochastic Production Frontier Approach
Author: John M. UlimwenguPublisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 32
Book Description
Validation of the World Food Programmes Food Consumption Score and Alternative Indicators of Household Food Security
Author: Doris Wiesmann, Lucy Bassett, Todd Benson, and John HoddinottPublisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 104
Book Description
Rebuilding after Emergency: Revamping Agricultural Research in Sierra Leone after Civil War
Author: Kwadwo Asenso-Okyere, Sindu Workneh, Edward Rhodes, and John SutherlandPublisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 69
Book Description
Genetically modified crops in Africa
Author: Falck-Zepeda, José BenjaminPublisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN: 0896297950
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 266
Book Description
A variable climate, political instability, and other constraints have limited agricultural development in African countries south of the Sahara. Genetically modified (GM) crops are one tool for enhancing agricultural productivity and food security despite such constraints. Genetically Modified Crops in Africa: Economic and Policy Lessons from Countries South of the Sahara investigates how this tool might be effectively used by evaluating the benefits, costs, and risks for African countries of adopting GM crops. The authors gather together studies on GM crops economic effects and impact on trade, how consumers view such crops, and other issues. They find that GM crops have had, on average, a positive economic effect in the nations where they were used and identify future steps for enhancing GM crop adoptions positive effects. Promising policy initiatives include making biosafety regulations that do not make GM crop development prohibitively expensive, fostering intraregional trade in GM crops, and providing more and better information about GM crops to consumers who might currently be skeptical of them. These and other findings in Genetically Modified Crops in Africa indicate ways biotechnology can contribute to economic development in Africa south of the Sahara.
Creating Sustainable Bioeconomies
Author: Ivar VirginPublisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1317594428
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 297
Book Description
The growing global demand for food, feed and bio-based renewable material is changing the conditions for agricultural production worldwide. At the same time, revolutionary achievements in the field of biosciences are contributing to a transition whereby bio-based alternatives for energy and materials are becoming more competitive. Creating Sustainable Bioeconomies explores the prospects for biosciences and how its innovation has the potential to help countries in the North (Europe) and the South (Africa) to move towards resource efficient agriculture and sustainable bioeconomies. Throughout the book, the situations of Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa will be compared and contrasted, and opportunities for mutual learning and collaboration are explored. The chapters have been written by high profile authors and deal with a wide range of issues affecting the development of bioeconomies on both continents. This book compares and contrasts the situations of these two regions as they endeavour to develop knowledge based bioeconomies. This volume is suitable for those who are interested in ecological economics, development economics and environmental economics. It also provides action plans assisting policy-makers in both areas to support the transition to knowledge based and sustainable bioeconomies.
Understanding Farmers' Perceptions and Adaptations to Climate Change and Variability: The Case of the Limpopo Basin, South Africa
Author: Glwadys Aymone GbetibouoPublisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 52
Book Description
Climate change is expected to have serious environmental, economic, and social impacts on South Africa. In particular, rural farmers, whose livelihoods depend on the use of natural resources, are likely to bear the brunt of adverse impacts. The extent to which these impacts are felt depends in large part on the extent of adaptation in response to climate change. This research uses a "bottom-up" approach, which seeks to gain insights from the farmers themselves based on a farm household survey. Farm-level data were collected from 794 households in the Limpopo River Basin of South Africa for the farming season 2004-2005. The study examines how farmer perceptions correspond with climate data recorded at meteorological stations in the Limpopo River Basin and analyzes farmers' adaptation responses to climate change and variability. A Heckman probit model and a multinomial logit (MNL) model are used to examine the determinants of adaptation to climate change and variability. The statistical analysis of the climate data shows that temperature has increased over the years. Rainfall is characterized by large interannual variability, with the previous three years being very dry. Indeed, the analysis shows that farmers' perceptions of climate change are in line with the climatic data records. However, only approximately half of the farmers have adjusted their farming practices to account for the impacts of climate change. Lack of access to credit was cited by respondents as the main factor inhibiting adaptation. The results of the multinomial logit and Heckman probit models highlighted that household size, farming experience, wealth, access to credit, access to water, tenure rights, off-farm activities, and access to extension are the main factors that enhance adaptive capacity. Thus, the government should design policies aimed at improving these factors.
Genetically Modified Organisms in Developing Countries
Author: Ademola A. AdenlePublisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107151910
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 323
Book Description
This book provides expertly written guidance on the regulation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in developing countries, including recommendations about risk analysis and governance.
ICT in Agriculture (Updated Edition)
Author: World BankPublisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464810230
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 658
Book Description
Information and communication technology (ICT) has always mattered in agriculture. Ever since people have grown crops, raised livestock, and caught fish, they have sought information from one another. Today, ICT represents a tremendous opportunity for rural populations to improve productivity, to enhance food and nutrition security, to access markets, and to find employment opportunities in a revitalized sector. ICT has unleashed incredible potential to improve agriculture, and it has found a foothold even in poor smallholder farms. ICT in Agriculture, Updated Edition is the revised version of the popular ICT in Agriculture e-Sourcebook, first launched in 2011 and designed to support practitioners, decision makers, and development partners who work at the intersection of ICT and agriculture. Our hope is that this updated Sourcebook will be a practical guide to understanding current trends, implementing appropriate interventions, and evaluating the impact of ICT interventions in agricultural programs.