The U.S. Food & Drug Administration issued its first regulatory guidance on genetically engineered crops in 1992 and by 1996 the first DNA modified seeds were going into the ground. European activists hated the idea. Called it Frankenfood and warned that the technology would lead to Armageddon. There is not a human disease or calamity that has not been blamed on the scientific process. Most developing countries and especially those with colonial ties to Europe also rejected GMO’s. Spin forward to today and the Nigerian government after years of rejecting the technology has approved Bt cowpeas. Cowpeas are an important staple crop that suffers up to 80 percent losses due to the pod boring insect called Maruca Vitrata. Bt cow...
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.