Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, 37073 Göttingen, Germany.
N Biotechnol. 2010 Nov 30;27(5):552-7. doi: 10.1016/j.nbt.2010.07.009. Epub 2010 Jul 17.
The potential impacts of genetically modified (GM) crops on income, poverty and nutrition in developing countries continue to be the subject of public controversy. Here, a review of the evidence is given. As an example of a first-generation GM technology, the effects of insect-resistant Bt cotton are analysed. Bt cotton has already been adopted by millions of small-scale farmers, in India, China, and South Africa among others. On average, farmers benefit from insecticide savings, higher effective yields and sizeable income gains. Insights from India suggest that Bt cotton is employment generating and poverty reducing. As an example of a second-generation technology, the likely impacts of beta-carotene-rich Golden Rice are analysed from an ex ante perspective. Vitamin A deficiency is a serious nutritional problem, causing multiple adverse health outcomes. Simulations for India show that Golden Rice could reduce related health problems significantly, preventing up to 40,000 child deaths every year. These examples clearly demonstrate that GM crops can contribute to poverty reduction and food security in developing countries. To realise such social benefits on a larger scale requires more public support for research targeted to the poor, as well as more efficient regulatory and technology delivery systems.
转基因作物对发展中国家的收入、贫困和营养的潜在影响一直是公众争论的主题。本文对相关证据进行了综述。以第一代转基因技术——抗虫 Bt 棉为例，分析了其对经济的影响。Bt 棉已经在印度、中国、南非等国的数百万小农户中得到采用。平均而言，农民受益于节省杀虫剂、更高的有效产量和可观的收入增长。来自印度的研究结果表明，Bt 棉具有创造就业和减少贫困的作用。以第二代技术——富含β-胡萝卜素的“金大米”为例，从预先角度分析了其可能产生的影响。维生素 A 缺乏是一个严重的营养问题，会导致多种不良健康后果。针对印度的模拟研究表明，“金大米”可以显著减少相关的健康问题，每年可预防多达 4 万名儿童死亡。这些例子清楚地表明，转基因作物可以为发展中国家的减贫和粮食安全做出贡献。要在更大规模上实现这些社会效益，需要更多的公共资金支持针对贫困人口的研究，以及更有效的监管和技术推广体系。
