NC state economist [2000 : March-April]

North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service NC STATE UNIVERSITY N( 4 state iMvi Ksm AAI STATE UNIVERSITY И COOPERATIVE NC State Economist — ■ EXTENSION | Helping People Pul Knowledge to Uorl ll v Id LC b WIIVlill Agricultural and Resource Economics • March/April 2000 Economics and the Biological Revolution in Agriculture Gerald A. Carlson , Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics The Past Fifty Years Agricultural innovations in the first half of the twentieth century were dominated by improvements in mechanization together with higher skill levels of farmers and others in the food industry. By the early 1950s, major changes were underway in what is known as the biological revolution in agriculture. In the past 50 years, productivity changes in agriculture, primarily driven by biological innovations, have led to significant changes in standards of living. But today controversies related to food safety, interna¬ tional trade of genetically modified crops, and environmental quality call into question the future of growth in agricultural productivity. This article examines the investments, consumer demand and institutional changes that describe the past and point to the future of the biological revolution. The Take-Off Phase Three sectors of North American agriculture were swept ahead by significant genetic innovations in the 1950s: corn hybrids; soybeans as a new, oil-seed crop; and genetically modified poultry to consume the lower-cost feeds. The new com and soybean varieties had to be tailored for various lengths of growing season and days, as well as for a large set of soil types, so the diffusion process took several decades. A private seed industry grew up as propri¬ etary rights to corn hybrids were established, while a public-sector plant-breeding program developed the local soybean varieties. Prior to these institutional changes, soybeans were grown as a minor fodder crop, and corn plants were not designed to produce high yields. Corn-soybean rotations helped capture more nitrogen, manage weeds, and control major soil pests such as corn rootworms and cyst nematodes. The productivity shifts passed lower feed prices to the poultry industry and finally to consumers. A broiler industry developed and consumers added more protein to their diets. During the 1960s, the transfer of plant breeding innovations to developing country agriculture began in the form of high-yield wheat and rice varieties developed at international research centers in Mexico and the Philippines. These green revolution varieties were shorter and much more responsive to other inputs such as water and fertilizer. Many small fanners adopted these seed and crop production improve¬ ments that led to increased yields and lowered consumer prices for these food staples. The technology was duplicated for pulses and millets in more arid areas, and for root crops such as cassava and potatoes to a limited extent. This part of the biological revolution enabled poor farmers to expand output faster than population growth, thereby reducing malnutrition. Higher yields helped relieve pressures on land conver¬ sion from forests and pastures to row crops. However, agricultural intensification also gave rise to numerous side effects. More fertilizer applications and more dense plant canopies increased the growth of some insects, viruses and fungi. Weed pests physiologically similar to the crop were selected and reproduced Employment and program opportunities are offered to all people regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. North Carolina State University, N orth Carolina A&T State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and local governments cooperating.