Adoption And Production Impact Of New Rice Technology

Public programs are designed to reach certain goals and beneficiaries. Methods to understand whether such programs actually work, as well as the level and nature of impacts on intended beneficiaries, are main themes of this book.

"The first generation of genetically modified (GM) crop varieties sought to increase producer profitability through cost reductions or higher yields, while the next generation of GM food research is focusing on breeding for attributes of interest to consumers. "Golden rice" has been genetically engineered to contain a higher level of vitamin A and thereby boost the health of poor people in developing countries. Anderson, Jackson, and Nielsen analyze the potential economic effects of adopting both types of innovation in Asia, including its impact on rice producers and other consumers. They do so using the global economywide computable general equilibrium model known as GTAP. The results suggest that farm productivity gains could be dwarfed by the welfare gains resulting from the potential health-enhancing attributes of golden rice which would boost the productivity of unskilled workers among Asia's poor. This paper--a product of the Trade Team, Development Research Group--is part of a larger effort in the group to understand the global economic effects of agricultural biotechnology policies"--World Bank web site.

A joint FAO and World Bank study which shows how the farming systems approach can be used to identify priorities for the reduction of hunger and poverty in the main farming systems of the six major developing regions of the world.