An Ex-Ante Economic Impact Assessment of Bt Eggplant in Bangladesh, the Philippines and India

This study projects the economic impact of adoption of Bt eggplant in India, Bangladesh and Philippines. The welfare benefits from adoption of Bt eggplant are projected to be positive in all three countries. The welfare gains from adoption (discounted at 5 percent) are projected to be US $ 411 million for India, US $ 37 million for Bangladesh and US$ 28 million for the Philippines. Consumers gain about 57% of the welfare benefits, while the producers gain 43% of the total surplus. Simulation results indicate that India is in a position to make significant investments in the development and diffusion of the Bt eggplant technology, while the Philippines and Bangladesh are likely to benefit from the transfer and adoption of technology from India.The simulations assumed a low seed premium, which would help in increasing the rate of adoption of the technology by the farmers. The findings suggest that potential economic benefits from Bt eggplant are high and efforts should be continued to develop and integrate the Bt eggplant with other IPM practices for effective pest management.