BT COTTON IN SOUTH AFRICA: ADOPTION AND THE IMPACT ON FARM INCOMES AMONGST SMALL-SCALE AND LARGE SCALE FARMERS

Farm Management, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Agricultural technology, productivity and employment: Policies for poverty reduction

This paper begins by arguing that agricultural economics has an important contribution to make to the economic transition of the new democratic South Africa. Policies are required to reduce unemployment, poverty and inequality, but does the work of agricultural economists provide the policy makers with the information necessary to make the correct choices? In this context, we update our recent work on technology, efficiency and productivity in South African agriculture, for both the commercial and smallholder sub-sectors. For the commercial sector, this means extending the total factor productivity index and estimates of the demand for labour. For the smallholder sector, there are new results on the impacts of GM cotton and white maize on output and employment. However, this piecemeal approach treats the two sectors as entirely separate, when they are actually interdependent. Thus, a Ricardian model of dualistic agriculture is used to explain the historical development of dualism in agriculture, especially how the native agriculturalists were impoverished by the colonists. Then this model is adapted to resemble the Harris-Todaro model of urban unemployment is order to represent the present dual agricultural sector. This allows the current policy options to be compared, although real data is needed to estimate the relationships and so the full analysis remains incomplete.Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty,

Contextual appraisal of GM cotton diffusion in South Africa

L'essentiel de la production de coton en Afrique du Sud provient des fermiers à production commerciale, il est donc erroné de considérer l'adoption impressionnante de Coton Génétiquement Modifié (CGM) comme un exemple d'utilisation réussie par les petits producteurs. Le secteur coton sud-africain évolue dans un environnement instable de production et de commercialisation, et les petits producteurs en souffrent le plus en raison de leurs ressources financières limitées, de la faiblesse de leur production, de leurs faibles capacités de gestion et de commercialisation et de l'absence de choix de production alternative. La superficie totale en coton et le nombre de producteurs a diminué de manière drastique depuis l'introduction du CGM, ce phénomène amène les observateurs à remettre en cause le soi-disant "success story" du CGM en Afrique du Sud. L'expérience des petits producteurs dans ce pays montre que la seule introduction d'une technologie ne peut accroître durablement une production, les facteurs tels que les arrangements institutionnels jouent un rôle crucial. Les études antérieures avaient mis l'accent exclusivement sur la performance d'une technologie nouvelle en minimisant le rôle l'aspect institutionnel. Les résultats de notre recherche complète les études existantes en indiquant que la rentabilité de l'utilisation du CGM est faible dans un contexte défavorable sur le plan climatique et institutionnel. Ceci nous rappelle que l'agriculture pluviale est sensible aux aléas climatiques et que l'adoption d'une technologie nouvelle dans ces conditions peut accroître le risque financier lié à la production cotonnière.coton; Afrique du Sud; OGM; Bt; évaluation d'impact; rentabilité

Producer support estimate (PSE) for South African agriculture for 1996, 1997, 1998

This paper endeavours to update the series of PSE calculations based on the 1998 OECD methodology (OECD 1998) which is a slightly revised methodology from the earlier calculations. The OECD terminology also now means that PSE stands for Producer Support Estimate and is calculated by classifying policy measures under a slightly different set of categories.Agricultural Finance,

Output and labour effects of GM maize and minimum tillage in a communal area of KwaZulu Natal

Insect resistant (Bt) white maize and minimum tillage are being adopted by smallholders in Hlabisa, KwaZulu-Natal. Bt cotton contains the genes controlling the production of a natural insecticide, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), which acts specifically on Lepidoptera, including bollworm in cotton and stem borers in maize, and is harmless to all other insects. A survey of 135 farms in 2003/4 is used in a stochastic frontier model to show that Bt seed did not increase yields per kg of seed and, because of its cost, made farmers 12 percent less efficient. This is due to unusually dry conditions, in which the stalk borer is not prevalent. Minimum tillage is being introduced to reduce erosion, but has more of an effect on production than Bt, increasing yields by 12 percent and efficiency by 11 percent. However, it displaces labour, which may have adverse effects on poverty

Smallholders' use of Bt-cotton under unfavourable context: lessons from South Africa

The bulk of the South African cotton crop is produced by large scale commercial farmers. Therefore it might be misleading to present South Africa's impressive Genetically Modified Cotton (GMC) adoption figures as evidence of successful GMC use by smallholder farmers. The total South African cotton area and number of farmers decreased drastically since the introduction of GMC and this causes observers to question the so-called success story of GMC in South Africa. Nevertheless, the smallholders' commitment in using Bt-cotton has been real and still is. Several assessment studies have demonstrated how profitable the adoption of Bt-cotton could be, but they did not take into account the local context of agriculture. The study we have implemented during the 2002/03 cropping season took place in a year of erratic rainfalls and when the institutional framework of cotton production has furthermore evolved negatively. Our study hence provides additional information on the adoption of Bt-cotton when context turns to become unfavourable. In this case, the mere access to cotton production is restrained to a limited number of producers; the cotton production becomes financially more risky while the profitability of using Bt-cotton is nullified. The South African cotton sector struggles in an unstable production and market environment and smallholders, with limited resources and limited production, managerial and marketing capacity and choice, suffer most. Technology introduction on its own cannot sustainably increase production; factors like institutional arrangements play a vital role. This reminds us that rain-fed agriculture remains sensitive to climatic hazards and that new technology adoption under these conditions might increase financial risk associated with cotton production.Cotton, South Africa, GMO, Bt, impact evaluation, profitability

Diffusion du Coton Génétiquement Modifié en Afrique du Sud : des leçons pour l'Afrique Zone Franc

L'utilisation du coton génétiquement modifié (CGM) en Afrique du Sud, depuis 1996/97, est le plus souvent présentée comme un succès d'adoption d'OGM par les petits paysans de pays en développement. C'est une présentation qui occulte le fait que la production cotonnière en Afrique du Sud est d'abord celle des fermiers blancs. Le succès du CGM dans ce pays est aussi tout relatif car la production continue à décliner et la part des petits paysans noirs reste toujours aussi faible alors que l'agriculture est en voie de disparition dans les Makhatini Flats. Le cas de l'Afrique du Sud montre que l'introduction d'une technologie nouvelle peut en effet soulager certaines contraintes rencontrées par les producteurs du petit paysannat sans être suffisante pour assurer la progression de la production à l'échelle du pays. D'autres facteurs d'ordre institutionnel interviennent, mais la focalisation exclusive sur le CGM les fait occulter. La dernière étape de l'évolution institutionnelle de la filière cotonnière renferme un processus inquiétant de forclusion de l'usage de la terre au détriment d'un grand nombre de paysans. Nos travaux fondés sur une enquête récente mettent en évidence une mauvaise rentabilité dans une année défavorable sur le plan climatique et institutionnel. Dans des conditions plus favorables, la rentabilité est meilleure mais avec un risque financier accru. L'adoption du CGM induit en effet un changement important dans la structure des coûts de production, le poste de dépense en semence devient l'élément principal des dépenses monétaires. Rares sont les pays de l'Afrique Zone Franc présentant aujourd'hui une stabilité institutionnelle favorable à l'introduction du CGM. Celle-ci nécessite préparation notamment pour d'une part négocier des conditions économiques favorables de transfert de la biotechnologie et d'autre part pour une réorganisation de la distribution de semences préservant les intérêts des paysans. Les difficultés associées à cette préparation mettent en garde contre une adoption précipitée.Coton; Afrique du Sud; OGM; évaluation; rentabilité

Food self-sufficiency and GM regulation under conflicting interests : the case of GM maize in South Africa

Food self-sufficiency is an important contributor to food security, and one of the potential solutions to this problem is increased food production productivity through agricultural biotechnology. In this paper, we study the relationship between a country’s genetically modified (GM) food policy and the food self-sufficiency rate (SSR) under conflicting interests, with the example of GM crop regulation and GM maize production in South Africa. We develop a theoretical model of a small open economy and investigate the GM food policy as the outcome of a GM and a non-GM food groups’ lobbying game that follows the model of Grossman and Helpman. The government maximises its payoff by considering the weighted sum of social welfare and contributions from interest groups. Our findings suggest that a lower GM food regulation supports domestic agricultural production, and we offer potential reasons why a country that has a low SSR still has a strict GM food policy regulation. We also find that the food SSR is a biased measure of food availability when both production and consumption change simultaneously.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ragr202021-04-08hj2019Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Developmen

Genetically modified maize : less drudgery for her, more maize for him? Evidence from smallholder maize farmers in South Africa

Genetically modified (GM) crop technologies have made great strides since its first introduction in 1996. Although there is an extensive and growing body of literature on the economic impact of the adoption of GM crops in both developing and developed economies, there is only scant evidence that the technology has had any specific and distinguishable impact among female and male farmers. In economies where female farmers and female household members have a significant and often differentiated role in agriculture production, it is crucial to be able to answer this question. This paper presents quantitative and qualitative results from a study of the gender-specific adoption and performance effects of insect resistant (Bt) and herbicide-tolerant (HT) maize produced by smallholder farmers in the Kwa Zulu Natal province in South Africa. The findings indicate that women farmers value the labor-saving benefit of HT maize alongside the stacked varieties which offer both insect control and labor saving. Higher yields are the main reason behind male adoption, while female farmers tend to favor other aspects like taste, quality, and the ease of farming herbicide-tolerant (HT) crops. Women farmers (and also children) saved significant time because less weeding is required, an activity that has traditionally been the responsibility of female farmers. The newer stacked varieties were preferred by both male and female farmers and seemed to be in high demand by both groups. However, lack of GM seed availability in the region and poor market access were possible limitations to the adoption and spread of the technology.The United States Department of State, the Rockefeller Foundation and ESRC/DFID.www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddevam2016Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Developmen

GM maize as subsistence crop : the South African smallholder experience

The South African smallholder GM maize experience has been -- to date and internationally -- the only example where a subsistence crop is produced by smallholder resource poor-farmers using GM seed. Their experience is thus of great interest, especially to African decision makers, international food and agricultural organizations, and the technology innovators. This article sheds light on eight years of research investigating the socio-economic impacts of GM maize adoption by smallholder farmers in South Africa. The main objective of the article is to highlight methodological and practical research challenges faced in this project in order to inform future socio-economic impact assessments and to contextualize research findings. Limited project findings are presented in the form of a discussion on the characteristics of early-adopting farmers and the yield impacts of GM maize adoption over the eight season period, emphasizing the variability between seasons and to show how methodological limitations impact research findings