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Rotten Cotton

The war against GMO’s is still playing out in Africa. French news platform RFI reports that farmers in Kenya are fighting over whether to grow Bt cotton. One farmer claimed his yields jumped 166 percent with Bt cotton seed, but opponents say initial yield gains eventually recede and Bt cotton is of poor quality. Threatening the opposition’s narrative is the reality of Bt cotton production in the largest cotton producing countries. Yields of Bt cotton are substantially larger than that of Kenya’s non-GMO cotton, and they have remained consistently higher over many years.  Additionally, the four top exporters of cotton (U.S., Brazil, Australia and India) have consistently retained their positions, indicating that any q...

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From WPI Consulting

Forecasting developments in production agriculture

On behalf of a private U.S. agricultural technology provider, WPI’s team generated an econometric model to forecast the movement of concentrated corn production north and west from the traditional U.S. Corn Belt. WPI’s model has subsequently provided quantitative support to a multi-million-dollar investment into short-season corn variety development. WPI’s methodology included a series of interviews with regional grain elevators and seed consultants. Emphasizing outreach and communication with stakeholders who possess intimate sectoral knowledge – on-the-ground insights – is a regular component of WPI’s methodologies, made possible by WPI’s ever-growing network of industry contacts.

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