Technology is a key enabler of more efficient agricultural production as growers attempt to meet the cost-effective need for increased food, fiber, and bioenergy, while managing limited inputs, conserving valuable natural resources, and protecting environmental quality. Each new pest management technology (weed, insect, disease) developed brings a number of benefits and risks—environmental, health, resistance—that must be considered and managed through effective stewardship practices to ensure that benefits are fully realized while risks are minimized.

This brief report outlines the main economic effects of the observed asynchrony in approvals for biotech-improved crops from regulatory systems in countries that are major global commodity exporters and importers.