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Perception of the risks and benefits of Bt eggplant by Indian farmers 1  

Author: Mark Chong a
Affiliation:   a Singapore Management University, Lee Kong Chian School of Business, Singapore 259756
DOI: 10.1080/13669870500042990
Publication Frequency: 8 issues per year
Published in: journal Journal of Risk Research, Volume 8, Issue 7 & 8 October 2005 , pages 617 - 634
Subject: Risk Management;
Formats available: HTML (English) : PDF (English)
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Abstract

Several researchers—most notably Lennart Sjoberg and his colleagues—have proposed that the moral aspects of risk provide a better explanation of risk perception than the psychometric paradigm or Cultural Theory, neither of which accounts for moral concerns. This study is possibly the first to assess empirically the perception of the risks and benefits of a transgenic food crop—transgenic Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) eggplant—by farmers in a developing country such as India. It also aims to assess if the moral aspects of risk figure in Indian farmers' perception of Bt eggplant and if economic benefits outweigh perceived risks. To answer the research questions, a scenario was used to elicit perceptions of Bt eggplant among 100 eggplant farmers in the state of Maharashtra in India. The findings indicate that economic benefits, safety concerns, and accountability are most salient to Indian farmers' perception of the risks and benefits of Bt eggplant. Significantly, none of the farmers mentioned moral concerns as an issue. The findings also make clear that economic benefits outweigh perceived risks. This study concludes that economic benefits are more salient than moral concerns to Indian farmers' perception Bt eggplant. It also proposes that an alternative theoretical model incorporating economic benefits, safety concerns, and accountability as key variables should be developed and tested for end users in the developing world.
1. The author conducted this study when he was a doctoral student in the Department of Communication at Cornell University.
Keywords: risk perception; biotechnology; developing countries; farmers
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