Can genetic engineering for the poor pay off? : an ex-ante evaluation of Golden Rice in India

Qaim, Matin; Sachdev, H. P. S.; Stein, Alexander J.

Can genetic engineering for the poor pay off? : an ex-ante evaluation of Golden Rice in India

dc.contributor.author	Qaim, Matin	de
dc.contributor.author	Sachdev, H. P. S.	de
dc.contributor.author	Stein, Alexander J.	de
dc.date.accessioned	2024-04-08T08:40:13Z
dc.date.available	2024-04-08T08:40:13Z
dc.date.created	2008-03-18
dc.date.issued	2006
dc.description.abstract	Genetic engineering (GE) in agriculture is a controversial topic in science and society at large. While some oppose genetically modified crops as proxy of an agricultural system they consider unsustainable and inequitable, the question remains whether GE can benefit the poor within the existing system and what needs to be done to deliver these benefits? Golden Rice has been genetically engineered to produce provitamin A. The technology is still in the testing phase, but, once released, it is expected to address one consequence of poverty ? vitamin A deficiency (VAD) ? and its health implications. Current interventions to combat VAD rely mainly on pharmaceutical supplementation, which is costly in the long run and only partially successful. We develop a methodology for ex-ante evaluation, taking into account the whole sequence of effects between the cultivation of the crop and its ultimate health impacts. In doing so we build on a comprehensive, nationally representative data set of household food consumption in India. Using a refined disability-adjusted life year (DALY) framework and detailed health data, this study shows for India that under optimistic assumptions this country?s annual burden of VAD of 2.3 million DALYs lost can be reduced by 59.4% hence 1.4 million healthy life years could be saved each year if Golden Rice would be consumed widely. In a low impact scenario, where Golden Rice is consumed less frequently and produces less provitamin A, the burden of VAD could be reduced by 8.8%. However, in both scenarios the cost per DALY saved through Golden Rice (US$ 3.06-19.40) is lower than the cost of current supplementation efforts, and it outperforms international cost-effectiveness thresholds. Golden Rice should therefore be considered seriously as a complementary intervention to fight VAD in rice-eating populations in the medium term.	en
dc.identifier.swb	293763011
dc.identifier.uri	https://hohpublica.uni-hohenheim.de/handle/123456789/5158
dc.identifier.urn	urn:nbn:de:bsz:100-opus-2611
dc.language.iso	eng
dc.relation.ispartofseries	Forschung zur Entwicklungsökonomie und -politik / Research in development economics and policy; 2006,5
dc.rights.license	publ-ohne-pod	en
dc.rights.license	publ-ohne-pod	de
dc.rights.uri	http://opus.uni-hohenheim.de/doku/lic_ubh.php
dc.subject	Genetic engineering	en
dc.subject	Beta-carotene biofortification	en
dc.subject	Vitamin A deficiency	en
dc.subject	Golden Rice	en
dc.subject	Health benefits	en
dc.subject	DALYs	en
dc.subject	Cost-effectiveness	en
dc.subject	India	en
dc.subject.ddc	630
dc.subject.gnd	Indien	de
dc.subject.gnd	Vitaminversorgung	de
dc.subject.gnd	Vitamin-A-Mangel	de
dc.subject.gnd	Provitamin A	de
dc.subject.gnd	Pflanzenzüchtung	de
dc.subject.gnd	Gentechnologie	de
dc.subject.gnd	Reis	de
dc.subject.gnd	Kosten-Nutzen-Analyse	de
dc.title	Can genetic engineering for the poor pay off? : an ex-ante evaluation of Golden Rice in India	de
dc.type.dcmi	Text	de
dc.type.dini	WorkingPaper	de
local.access	uneingeschränkter Zugriff	en
local.access	uneingeschränkter Zugriff	de
local.bibliographicCitation.publisherPlace	Universität Hohenheim	de
local.faculty.number	2	de
local.institute.number	490	de
local.opus.number	261
local.series.issueNumber	2006,5
local.series.title	Forschung zur Entwicklungsökonomie und -politik / Research in development economics and policy
local.university	Universität Hohenheim	de
local.university.faculty	Faculty of Agricultural Sciences	en
local.university.faculty	Fakultät Agrarwissenschaften	de
local.university.institute	Institute for Agricultural Economics and Social Sciences in the Tropics and Subtropics	en
local.university.institute	Institut für Agrar- und Sozialökonomie in den Tropen und Subtropen	de

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Institut für Tropische Agrarwissenschaften (Hans-Ruthenberg-Institut)