Socio-Economic Impact Assessment of Genetically Modified Crops

This book provides a comprehensive overview of socio-economic impact assessments for genetically modified organisms, including genetically modified crops. It features case studies involving Bt cotton and other selected crops with improved traits from six major institutions in India and combines field data with surveys on stakeholder perceptions. It also discusses global trends in the socio-economic assessment of GMOs and reviews the available literature on the economic assessment of GM crops and how various countries have implemented Article 26.1 of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. Further, it explores cost–benefit analyses and sociological aspects of socio-economic assessments.Based on this, the book proposes a framework and offers guidelines for socio-economic assessment that can be adapted for various GM crops. Lastly, it examines the relevance of socio-economic impact assessment in light of new applications such as GM mosquitoes and gene drives. Given its scope, the book is of interest to all academics, policymakers, regulators, and general readers concerned about the broader impacts of GM crops and applications like gene drives.

Prof Sachin Chaturvedi is Director General at the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), a New Delhi-based think tank. He was a Global Justice Fellow at the MacMillan Center for International Affairs at Yale University. His work currently focuses on issues related to development economics, development finance, SDGs, and South–South Cooperation. He has also worked on trade, investment, and innovation linkages with a special focus on the WTO. He has authored/edited 10 books, contributed chapters in various edited volumes and published several research articles in a number of prestigious journals. He has served as a Visiting Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), a Developing Country Fellow at the University of Amsterdam (1996), a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla (2003), and a Visiting Scholar at the German Development Institute (2007). He is a Member of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Central Board of Directors. He has been writing on biotechnology and development issues since the early 1990s and has led research projects on biotechnology and development issues, e.g. for UNESCO, FAO, Department of Biotechnology, and the MOEF&CC.
Krishna Ravi Srinivas holds a Ph.D. from the National Law School University of India, Bangalore. He has been a Fulbright Fellow (Visiting Scholar) at the University of Pennsylvania, a Visiting Scholar at the Law School, Indiana University, Bloomington, and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the South Centre, Geneva. He has taught at the IIM-B as a Visiting Faculty. For his Ph.D., he conducted research on agricultural biodiversity and intellectual property rights. He has published extensively on intellectual property rights, traditional knowledge, open source, open innovation, commons and climate change, IPRs, and technology transfer. He is currently a Consultant to the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), New Delhi, and is pursuing research on technology governance, intellectual property rights, science diplomacy, and responsible research and innovation. He has been a consultant to UNESCO, UNEP, the Anthropological Survey of India, UNDESA, and FAO. He is Managing Editor of the journal Asian Biotechnology and Development Review (ABDR).