Corn grower change for climate change: ex-ante economic analysis of adoption of enhanced root traits
Date
2019
Authors
Giraud, Angelique, author
Graff, Gregory, advisor
Mooney, Daniel, committee member
McKay, John, committee member
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Abstract
Sustainable agriculture technologies of enhanced root corn possess the potential to offset more than half of the greenhouse gas emissions of the transportation sector if completely diffused. Weather variability resulting from climate change is predicted to decrease agricultural productivity. Enhanced corn root traits aim to mitigate and adapt to climate change by improving drought tolerance and soil quality and increasing carbon sequestration rates. Encouraging adoption is challenging among heterogeneous corn growers in an enormous market. Previous research on farmer preferences around four categories of benefits stemming from adoption of corn with enhanced root traits frames the motivation to detail profit margins influencing business decisions utilizing a linear programming model. Several scenarios of changes to cost, revenue, carbon sequestration, and water scarcity are analyzed to provide guidance for policy. Results indicate that a corn grower will not choose enhanced root corn when the only benefit is carbon sequestration with cost and revenue as sole drivers of the decision to adopt. As water scarcity progresses, drought tolerance becomes increasingly valuable, substantially shifting production decisions in favor of adoption of corn with enhanced root traits.
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Subject
drought tolerance
optimization
linear programming
corn