SOCIOECONOMIC AND FARM-LEVEL EFFECTS OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS 39


or motivation for maize production differ. In the production of a cash crop like cotton, farmers are profit driven and are intent on producing as much as possi- ble. On the contrary, some smallholder maize farmers are only interested in pro- ducing enough for their households, others only plant a couple of lines for fresh maize, and yet others only produce to sell. It is unlikely that the smaller produc- ers would invest in a productivity-increasing technology like Bt maize. That a technology was introduced and adopted and that farmers benefited


does not necessarily result in a flourishing sector, as is evident from the exam- ple of South African cotton. Even with biotechnology, South African cot- ton farmers were not able to produce profitably at low cotton world prices. The fact that many smallholders continued producing, while commercial farmers left the sector for greener or more profitable pastures is indicative of smallholders’ dependence on government support and limited alternative pro- duction options and not of the success of biotechnology. Bt seed technology is a production tool just like fertilizers, herbicides, or


irrigation technologies. Contrary to the technologies of the Green Revolution, it might be able to improve the yields of farmers with limited ability or means to control insects. However, it will by no means be able to overcome institu- tional failure and governance challenges that seem to be endemic in African agriculture and that were also the limiting factors in the Green Revolution. The experience with Bt cotton on the Makhathini Flats emphasizes that technology-induced advances might be short lived in the absence of the cor- rect institutional structures, regulations, cooperation, and competition.


References


Annecke, D. P., and V. C. Moran. 1982. Insects and Mites of Cultivated Plants in South Africa. Durban, South Africa: Butterworths.


Bennett, R., S. Morse, and Y. Ismael. 2006. “The Economic Impact of Genetically Modified Cotton on South African Smallholders: Yield, Profit and Health Effects.” Journal of Development Studies 42: 662–677.


Brookes, G. 2002. The Farm-Level Impact of Using Bt Maize in Spain. Brussels: EuropaBio.


Brookes, G., and P. Barfoot. 2008. GM Crops: Global Socio-Economic and Environmental Impacts 1996–2006. Dorchester, UK: PG Economics.


—. 2010. GM Crops: Global Socio-Economic and Environmental Impacts 1996–2008. Dorchester, UK: PG Economics.


Fok, M., J. L. Hofs, M. Gouse, and J. F. Kirsten. 2007. “Contextual Appraisal of GM Cotton Diffusion in South Africa.” Life Sciences International Journal 1 (4): 468–482.


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