New technology adoption and use is important for the development of agriculture. How it is regulated can, however, have a significant influence on adoption, use and impact.
When Genetically Modified (GM) crop technology first became available for widespread use in the 1990s, it was considered sufficiently novel that many countries introduced new GM technology-specific regulation that had not, and continues to, not be applied to other forms of new technology used in the sector. With the development of newer, more precise Gene Editing (GE) technology, how this new technology is to be regulated has become a key issue of debate, especially given the need for the world to respond to rapidly developing climate change impacts on global agricultural production and food security. Some countries have already formalised their regulation of GE technology use in agriculture, whilst others continue to debate and discuss how to proceed. Against this background, it is noted that the literature relating to the impact of regulation of GM and other novel technology use in agriculture is limited.
The aim of this Collection is to identify and publish research findings relating to the impact of regulation of new technology in agriculture, with a specific focus on GM and GE regulation. In particular, the Collection seeks papers exploring the following:
- Impact of Regulation (and differences in the nature of regulation between countries) on innovation:
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- Number and type of new products developed and adopted, including what might be developed
- Cost and time taken to navigate the regulatory process
- Comparisons between regulatory systems in different countries and how this affects new product development
- Public versus private sector new product development
- Competition in the supply chain of technology and inputs to farmers;
- Impact of regulation (and differences in the nature of regulation between countries) on farm level adoption and use:
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- How regulation affects availability and choice to farmers
- How regulation affects cost of technology to farmers, potential profitability and willingness to adopt;
- Impact of regulation (and differences in the nature of regulation between countries) on trade in agricultural commodities, derivatives and foods derived from GM and GE technology;
- How has regulation (and differences in the nature of regulation between countries) affected agriculture’s scope for mitigating climate change and addressing bio-diversity loss;
- Impact of regulation such as labelling on consumer choice, product availability and price;
- Comparisons of regulatory approaches and lessons to be learned;
- Differences between regulatory approaches adopted or being considered for GM versus GE innovations.
As GM technology has been widely used for more than 25 years, ex-post impact papers are more likely to be related to this technology whereas ex-ante studies examining potential impacts and implications are more likely to be related to the newer GE technology development, regulation and commercialisation. Either type of analysis and discussion are welcomed in this Collection.
Please contact Marya Baig at [email protected] with any queries regarding this Article Collection.
Graham Brookes is an agricultural economist with PG Economics Ltd, a UK-based business that specialises in examining economic issues relating to the impact of technology, policy changes and regulatory impact. He has over 35 years’ experience of undertaking research projects relating to the impact of regulation on competitiveness in the agricultural and input supply sectors, the impact of policy change and the socio-economic and environmental impact of new technologies like agricultural biotechnology. He has written widely on these subjects in peer reviewed journals including global economic and environmental impact assessments of GM crops and the economic impact of various EU regulations (eg, of novel foods, pesticides and GM crops).
Graham Brookes declares no conflict of interest relating to this work.
