Two new papers aim to quantify the social welfare and economic costs that countries inflict upon themselves by restricting the use of biotechnology in agriculture.

Though the global production of GM crops generated an estimated $57 billion in farm-gate revenues in 2016, widespread cultivation of GM crops could have generated an additional $65 billion, with developing countries reaping most of those gains, asserts a paper published by the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST).

Extrapolating similar insights, a paper published in the Journal of Student Research (JSR) notes that GM crop production has resulted in increased farming efficiency, lower production costs due to the reduction of agricultural inputs such as pesticides and rising incomes for developing countries.

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Despite widespread and compelling literature on the potential of GM crops to increase farming efficiency and spur economic growth, the researchers cite various market and regulatory factors that encumber the full realization of these benefits. They note that trade barriers targeted at GMOs reduce access to food, limit farm revenues and increase overall prices.

This is an excerpt. Read the original post here.