基改作物之採用行為分析--以番茄為例

Abstract

根據美國哈佛大學醫學院領導的研究小組發現，番茄含有豐富的茄紅素，是個強而有力之抗氧化劑，能清除體內過多的自由基，降低罹患攝護腺癌機率。番茄是一種高經濟價值的作物，台灣地處亞熱帶高溫多濕，番茄栽培過程極容易發生病蟲害，對農民造成極大的損失。為了有效的防止病蟲害發生，中央研究院與亞蔬中心正在共同合作，把一個或兩個上游防禦性基因，成功轉殖入一個優良番茄的品種中，藉此培育出可以同時抵抗多種病蟲害的番茄新品系。 全世界基因改造作物商業化至今已將近十四年，從原本的一百七十萬公頃的栽培面積，擴增至今的一億三千四百萬公頃，共增加了七十八倍之多，全球正藉著基因轉殖技術的開發，來獲取最大之利益。而台灣的基改產業，過去十幾年來，仍停留在只能研發不能商業生產的階段，使產業發展受到極大的限制。 本研究之目的是為了嘗試瞭解，台灣番茄農民對基改新技術的認知與農民採用基因轉殖技術的意願以及分析影響其採用行為的因素。本研究採隨機抽樣，訪問全台220位實際栽種番茄農戶，問卷經由實證分析後顯示，台灣目前栽種番茄的農民都會主動搜集新品種和新種植技術的相關資訊，農民對於基因轉殖番茄的採用意願有超過七成以上的農民願意採用，都期望能有一個抗病蟲害能力強、可抗除草劑以及耐長途運送的新品種來讓他們栽種。而參加產銷班組織以及公司型態所成立的農民，是以產量為其生存獲利的主要目的，此一型態的農民採用意願高。而高中學歷之農民栽種番茄的時間較久，栽培經驗豐富，對於新技術、新品種的發展，未取得信賴前，農民比較不願意採用。另外值得一提的是，農民參與講習的次數越多，越不會採用基因轉殖番茄，農民越了解政府政策，市場接受度，越會去考量生態與環保意識等，農民就會喪失種植基因轉殖作物的動力。

According to the finding of a leading research team at Harvard University, USA, tomato contains abundant Lycopene, a powerful antioxidant and able to remove free radicals, so that it decreases the incidence of prostate cancer. Tomato is a kind of high-economic-value crop; however, due to Taiwan’s climate of subtropics with high temperature and humidity, this crop is vulnerable to pest and results in huge loss for peasants. To prevent from pest, Academia Sinica in collaboration with Center of Asian Vegetable successfully puts one or two upstream defensive transgenic gene into top quality tomato and then cultivates a new type of GM tomato with high pest-resistance ability Commercialization of GM crops has undergone for nearly 14 years, the plantation expanding from 170,000 hectare to 134,000,000 hectare, totally increasing 78 times. Such a high increasing rate in plantation of GM crops reflects that the whole world is now achieving the maximization of profit through the development of transgenic technology, while Taiwan’s incomplete law lays the related industry in restriction. The industry has stagnated in research and development, not allowing of undertaking commercial production limits further prosperity. This research aims to understand peasants’ adoption of GM tomato and analyses the factors which impact their adoptive behaviors. It uses random sampling and conducts questionnaire to interview 220 peasants planting tomato in Taiwan. After data analysis, the finding demonstrates that over 70% of peasants are willing to adopt GM tomato, for they expect a new type of crop with the advantages of high pest-resistance ability, growing fast, and standing long-distance transport. Of them, GM tomato is most acceptable for those peasants who participate in marketing group or corporation, because production is their source of profit. On the other hand, the peasants whose education level is senior high school did not believe in this new type of crop with new technology are not willing to adopt GM tomato. Although GM tomato is acceptable, the more workshop peasants participate in, the more they are influenced by the lectures who support ecological protection and organic crops, and provide them with policy and acceptance of the market. Under the circumstances, they decline to the adoption of GM tomato.