VoxDev published a research-based commentary by Tanguy Bernard (Professor of Economics, University of Bordeaux; Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI), Sylvie Lambert (Chaired Professor, Paris School of Economics), Karen Macours (Professor, Paris School of Economics), and Margaux Vinez (Senior Economist, World Bank) looking at how promoting modern seed varieties accelerated the deforestation of primary forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
"Modern agricultural technologies have the potential to drive economic growth and poverty alleviation, and improve health and nutrition in many of the poorest countries in the world (e.g. Gollin et al. 2012, Von der Goltz et al. 2020). However, a lingering question remains: does this progress come at the expense of environmental sustainability?"
"In our recent research, we delve into the causal impact of the diffusion of modern seed varieties on deforestation, focusing on the Equateur province, which encompasses a significant portion of DRC’s forest cover (Bernard, Lambert, Macours and Vinez 2023)".
Read the article on VoxDev.
