Global review of commercialized transgenic crops

THE unprecedented rapid adoption of transgenic crops during the initial five-year period (1996 to 2000) when genetically modified (GM) crops were first adopted, reflects the significant multiple benefits realized by large and small farmers in industrial and developing countries that have grown transgenic crops commercially. Between 1996 and 2000, a total of fifteen countries – 10 industrial and 5 developing – contributed to more than a twentyfive fold increase in the global area of transgenic crops from 1.7 million hectares in 1996 to 44.2 million hectares in 2000. The accumulated area of transgenic crops planted in the five-year period 1996 to 2000 total 125 million hectares, equivalent to more than 300 million acres. Adoption rates for transgenic crops are unprecedented and are the highest for any new technology by agricultural industry standards. High adoption rates reflect grower satisfaction with products that offer significant benefits ranging from more convenient and flexible crop management, higher productivity and/or net returns per hectare, health benefits and a safer environment through decreased use of conventional pesticides, which collectively contribute to not only improved weed and insect pest control (attainable with transgenic herbicide-tolerant and insect-resistant Bt crops) but also benefits of lower input and production costs; genetically modified crops offer significant economic advantages to farmers compared with corresponding conventional crops. The severity of weed and insect pests varies from year to year and hence this will have a direct impact on pest control costs and the consequent economic advantage. Despite the on-going debate on GM crops, particularly in countries of the European Union, millions of large and small farmers in both industrial and developing countries continue to increase their plantings of GM crops because of the significant multiple benefits they offer. This high adoption rate is a strong vote of confidence in GM crops, reflecting grower satisfaction. Many recent studies have confirmed that farmers planting herbicide-tolerant and insect-resistant Bt crops are more efficient in managing their weed and insect pests. An estimated 3.5 million farmers grew transgenic crops to health and economic advantages. In coming years, the number of farmers planting GM crops is expected to grow substantially and the global area of GM crops is expected to continue to grow. Global population would exceed 6 billion by 2050, when approximately 90% of the global population will reside in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Today, 815 million people in the developing countries suffer from malnutrition and 1.3 billion are afflicted by poverty. Transgenic crops, often referred to as GM crops, represent promising technologies that can make a vital contribution to global food, feed and fibre security. Global reviews of transgenic crops have been published as ISAAA Briefs annually since 1996. This publication provides the latest information on the global status of commercialized transgenic crops. A detailed global data set on the adoption of commercialized transgenic crops is presented for the year 2001 and the changes that have occurred between 2000 to 2001 are highlighted. The global adoption trends during the last six years from 1996 to 2001 are also illustrated. Given the continuing debate on transgenic crops, particularly the issues relating to public acceptance, there has been much speculation as to whether the global area of transgenic crops would continue to increase in 2001. This publication documents the global database on the adoption and distribution of GM crops in 2001. Note that the words transgenic crops and genetically modified crops, maize and corn, as well as rapeseed and canola are used synonymously in the text, reflecting the usage of these words in different regions of the world. Global figures and hectares planted commercially with transgenic crops have been rounded off to the nearest 100,000 hectares. In some cases this leads to insignificant approximations and there may be slight variances in some figures, totals and percentage estimates. It is also important to note that countries in the Southern Hemisphere plant their crops in the last quarter of the calendar year; the transgenic crop areas reported in this publication are planted, not harvested, hectarage in the year stated. Thus, the 2001 information for Argentina, Australia, South Africa and Uruguay is hectares planted in the last quarter of 2001.