Economic return and breakeven point in adopting IR maize in médio Paranapanema - SP

• Grant number: 12/07883-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: July 01, 2012
• End date: June 30, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy
• Principal Investigator: Maura Seiko Tsutsui Esperancini
• Grantee: Franklin de Souza Barbosa
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agronômicas (FCA). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The economic aspects of technology adoption of transgenic maize are not widely studied in Brazil, due to the recent commercialization of transgenic varieties. Nevertheless, the adoption rate of GM maize (mainly the RI maize) has been faster than soybean and cotton in Brazil. This fact is attributed to the economic advantages that this technology brings to RI maize producers in terms of reducing insecticide use and increased productivity, compared to the cost of technology that is the seed cost. Moreover, part of the literature indicates that IR maize technology is just economically viable from certain levels of infestation, amount of productivity increase, corn prices, and costs of GM seed. The aim of this study is to estimate the breakeven points of the following variables: levels of infestation (and therefore the amount of insecticide used), increase productivity, corn prices, and seed cost of IR maize technology that turns the RI maize economically advantageous for the producer, using farmer's data. It will be estimated the breakeven points for each variable considered previously, whereas the others are considered constant. In this way, the breakeven point is one that equates the incremental benefits to incremental costs of technology RI. The results presented should provide support for decision-making from the producer to adopt this technology.(AU)