Mr. Graham Brookes of Brookes West consultancy, (and Director of PG
Economics Limited) presents the findings of his latest report "Farm
level impact of herbicide tolerant soybeans in Romania".
This paper examines the farm level impact
of use of Roundup Ready soybeans in Romania.
Context of soybeans in Romania
Romania has the third highest soybean area in Europe (75,000 ha in 2003)
behind Italy and Serbia/Montenegro, and roughly equal to the area in
France. Roundup Ready (RR) soybeans have been grown commercially since
1999 and accounted for 55%-60% of all soybeans planted in 2003.
Weeds and conventional control measures
Weeds are a major problem in Romania. This largely reflects a combination
of climate/soils and limited use of herbicides since 1990. As a result of
the limited use of herbicides (due to economic transition problems), there
has been a significant build up in the weed seed bank and some weeds are
now extremely difficult to control. Also only a limited number of farmers
can afford to use the amount of herbicides required to give reasonable
control.
Cost of the technology
RR soybeans are sold as a package with Roundup herbicide. The current cost
is about $130/ha. The price paid by farmers does, however vary according
to where purchased from and the ability to negotiate discounts (large
users).
Since the launch of the technology, the general price level of herbicides
has remained broadly stable, although the price of Roundup has fallen by
about a third (in line with the falling prices of generic glyphosate
alternatives that have recently become available in Romania).
Impact on yield
The average impact on yield has been +31%, within a range of +16% to +50%
(on a base yield of 2-2.5 tonnes/ha). This significant yield improvement
is due to improved weed control, especially of ‘difficult to control’
established weeds like Johnson grass. This yield improvement compares with
mostly yield neutral impact in countries like Argentina, the USA and
Canada, where weeds are much less of a problem than in Romania.
Most farmers have also benefited from a 2%-3% improvement in the price
received for their soybeans from improved harvest quality (less weed
impurities).
Impact on costs and margins
Romanian farmers have, on average, made significant cost savings and
improvements to gross margins. The average gross margin improvements have
been +184%, +127% and +185% respectively for smaller farms using certified
seed, larger farmers using certified seed and larger farms using farm
saved seed. This average positive impact of the technology has been much
higher than in other RR soybean using countries – this stems from the
major improvements in weed control.
Other impacts/issues relating to use of RR soybeans
Some farmers indicated that they benefited from increased convenience and
management flexibility, most notably from having an increased time period
for spraying. Some farmers also derived small savings to harvest costs
(less time spent harvesting). Another benefit has been in follow-on crops,
notably maize from improved weed control and reduced use of herbicides
Effect on the environment
It is difficult to show trends in herbicide use on soybeans and/or to draw
conclusions about usage because of the impact of economic transition and
re-structuring on the agricultural sector (fluctuating areas planted and
inconsistent information). The only consistent finding has been the
increased use of glyphosate and its replacement of herbicides which have
higher toxicity profiles than glyphosate. This is consistent with findings
in other countries like the USA and Argentina.
National level impact
Grossing up the farm level impact on soybean production and margins, the
adoption of RR soybeans has increased the value of Romanian soybean
production by about €8.23-€8.62 million in 2002-03. In production terms
this is equal to about +14% to +19%.
Graham Brookes
24 February 2004
