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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Now......GMO sweet corn

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  • From: Etienne Goyer <etienne.goyer AT outlands.ca>
  • To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Now......GMO sweet corn
  • Date: Tue, 20 Sep 2011 08:50:47 -0400

On 11-09-19 10:27 PM, Thamnophis wrote:
> Under some, more or less perfect conditions, organic can produce good
> results. But in areas of climate extremes and heavy weed/pest/disease
> pressure and areas where mechanization is nearly non-existent, GMO crops
> will grow in use and produce more.

My understanding is exactly the opposite: the GMO currently on the
market (corn and soy, mostly) are hybrid bred for large monoculture,
where they are grown at very high density (hence requiring high
fertility and water for good yield), where they are expected to be sown
and harvested mechanically, and where they would require broadband
herbicide (such as Roundup) to be kept weed-free. Now, the question is:
for the marginal conditions that you describe, wouldn't a locally
adapted varieties work best?

Come to think of it, which would offer the best cost/benefit ratio:
developing GMO in labs in the First World, or investing in farmer
education, farming infrastructure, and the (conventional) breeding of
locally adapted cultivars of staple crop in the Third World?

Paradoxically, the Green Revolution was not won using the former.




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