Print This PageIncreasing Farm Prosperity with Innovation
Study: Brazil
Since 2003, farmers in Brazil saved $1.3 billion and earned
another $951 million by growing GM soybeans.
With a cultivated area of 21 million hectares, Brazil is the second largest producer of soybeans in the world. Farmers in the country produced 55 million tons of soybeans for the harvest of 2006-2007.31
A recent study explored the economic benefits of genetically modified (GM) soybeans in Brazil.31 The authors found that the cumulative economic benefit of GM soybean crops in Brazil was $2.3 billion since the harvest of 2003-2004, the first in which cultivation of genetically modified soybean seeds was approved in Brazil.
Farmers realized economic gains in two ways: reduced production costs and increased yield per hectare. Production costs were down because, by growing Roundup Ready soybeans farmers were able to use conservation tillage, which can reduce labor in the field. The authors observed that producers had saved $1.3 billion cumulatively since the 2003-2004 harvest.
Farmers also realized an increased yield per hectare. According to report, GM soybeans resulted in a 9 percent increase in yield per hectare in Brazil’s Southern region and a 5 percent increase in yield per hectare in its Midwestern region. This created an additional $951 million in cumulative income for the producers since 2003-2004. The authors attributed this yield gain directly to the reduction in weeds that usually compete with the crop for nutrients and water.
