Benefits of Biotech Touted in International Study

The British research firm PG Economics has released a study that touts the economic and environmental benefits of raising biotech crops. Thanks to agricultural biotechnology - the study found farmers in 25 countries are seeing increased yields, improved productivity and higher revenues. In fact - the report shows farmers have experienced a gain of 44.1-billion dollars over the 12 year period since technology was introduced to the market. What’s more - the study found farmers are using less pesticides on biotech crops - and biotech crops are reducing tillage - removing the equivalent of eight-billion pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Rob Korff - Chairman of the National Corn Growers Association’s Biotech Working Group - says it’s great to see the expanding awareness worldwide of the benefits of biotechnology. He says the ability to aggressively expand yields, cut greenhouse gases, feed a growing work and keep food coming from family farms is a terrific contribution.

More than 13-million farmers in 25 countries are using biotechnology. In the U.S. - corn growers were already planting nearly half their acres with biotech seed in 2004. That number had climbed to 80-percent in 2008.