Authors
Stéphane Voisin and Others
GM technologies have had an important impact on the economics of crop production, and are poised to further enhance yields and overall productivity over the next 10 years. Crédit Agricole Cheuvreux believes that governments have underestimated demand for food, animal feed and 'green' chemicals, and see Europe progressively adopting GMOs. GM technology reduces overall costs for farmers, offering greater ease of use. The Cheuvreux report identifies key crops as soybean, corn, cotton and canola. Key traits include herbicide tolerance and insecticide resistance. Penetration has already increased to 60% in soybean and 19% in corn. Short-term growth should come from stacking and second generation herbicide tolerance. New GM applications are likely to come from increased non-food sectors, dedicated to biofuels (starch-enriched corn, corn with enzymes, enzyme-rich biomass) and animal feed. Further growth should come from Latin America and Asia. Consumer resistance to GMs, mainly in Europe, poses the most immediate risks for the technology but may prove to be relatively transitory.