More crops growers worldwide favoring GM

Global biotech acreage reaches 2 billlion

MANILA, Philippines – About two billion hectares  have been cultivated with genetically engineered crops in the past 19 years, making transgenic crops the most favoured crop technology in the history of modern agriculture.

A report by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) also showed that the area of worldwide farmland used for growing genetically engineered crops increased 100-fold from 1.7 million hectares in 1996 to 179.7 million hectares in 2015, reflecting farmer satisfaction with biotech crops.

According to ISAAA, farmers in up to 28 countries have reaped more than $150 billion in benefits from biotech crops since the GM technology was introduced in 1996.

This has helped alleviate poverty for up to 16.5 million small farmers and their families annually totaling about 65 million people, who are some of the poorest people in the world.

“More farmers are planting biotech crops in developing countries precisely because biotech crops are a rigorously-tested option for improving crop yields,” said Clive James, founder and emeritus chair of ISAAA.

“Despite claims from opponents that biotechnology only benefits farmers in industrialized countries, the continued adoption of the technology in developing countries disproves that,” James added.

For the fourth consecutive year, developing countries planted more biotech crops (14.5 million hectares) than industrialized countries.

Last year, Latin American, Asian and African farmers grew biotech crops on 54 percent of global biotech hectarage.

 Of the 28 countries that planted biotech crops, 20 were developing nations.

 Annually, up to 18 million farmers, 90 percent of whom were small, resource-poor growers in developing countries, benefited from planting biotech crops during the 19-year period.

In 2015, India became the leading cotton producer in the world with much of its growth attributed to biotech Bt cotton. India is the largest biotech cotton country in the world with 11.6 million hectares planted in 2015 by 7.7 million small farmers.

“Farmers, who are traditionally risk-averse, recognize the value of biotech crops, which offer benefits to farmers and consumers alike, including drought tolerance, insect and disease resistance, herbicide tolerance, and increased nutrition and food quality,” ISAAA global coordinator Randy Hautea said.

“Moreover, biotech crops contribute to more sustainable crop production systems that address concerns regarding climate change and global food security.”

The ISAAA is a non-profit organization with an international network of centers designed to contribute to the alleviation of hunger and poverty by sharing knowledge and crop biotechnology applications.

The Philippines approved in March a new set of rules on genetically modified organisms after a high court, acting on a petition by environmental activists led by Greenpeace, demanded an overhaul of previous regulations.

The new rules are expected to enhance transparency in the approval process for permits to plant, import and commercialize GM products, including enhanced regulations on risk assessment and involvement of local government.

The country was the first in the region to allow planting and commercialization of GM corn, which it did in 2002. It has also allowed GM crop imports for more than a decade.