Feeding the World: The impact of GM crops on ecosystem service provision

Small landholder farmers in the most biodiverse regions of the world are using GM crops because of their perceived economic benefits. Despite this trend, little is known about the impacts of farming GM crops at this scale on the local economy and ecosystem ecosystem service provision in these regions. This project will use state-of-the-art methodologies and models, to construct a scientific framework to quantitatively determine impact of different farming techniques associated with growing Bt cotton in India by small landholder farmers on key ecosystem services. It will compare the relative impact of three practices - GM, organic and conventional– on pollinator service provision and soil and water quality. It will then determine the combined environmental, economic and social consequences as evidenced through the overall impact on key ecosystem services. Output from this study will be used to develop an end-user tool to quantitatively compare the different management strategies involved in Bt cotton production. This will be used to guide interventions and investments in small landholder agriculture that minimize environmental impact and optimize ecosystem services. Initial steps will be taken to develop the tool for other agricultural practices. Working with the Sir John Templeton Foundation will allow us to develop this tool to make agriculture more competitive in poorer nations.