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For more
information, contact:
Clive James at
(345) 947-1839, cjames@candw.ky,
or
John Dutcher
at (515) 334-3464, dutcherj@fleishman.com
Biotech
Crops Continue Rapid Global Growth
New
report documents nearly 6 million farmers chose biotech last year
(Jan. 15,
2003) - Biotechnology continues to be a growing choice among farmers
worldwide as global acreage of crops enhanced through biotech
increased by 12 percent, or 15 million acres in 2002, according to a
new report released today from the International Service for the
Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA).
For the sixth
consecutive year, farmers worldwide adopted biotech crops at a
double-digit pace, with 2002 global biotech acreage reaching 145
million acres. More than one-fifth of the global crop area of
soybeans, corn, cotton and canola acres are now biotech. Nearly 6
million farmers in 16 countries chose to plant biotech crops in 2002,
up from 5 million farmers in 13 countries in 2001. More than
three-quarters of these farmers were resource-poor farmers in
developing countries.
"This
high adoption rate is a strong vote of confidence in biotech crops,
reflecting farmers' need for and satisfaction with the
technology," says Clive James, chairman and founder of ISAAA.
"In many cases, growers are finding biotechnology offers the
only viable solution to protect crops from economically devastating
pests."
While biotech
cotton maintained its global acreage of 16.8 million acres, biotech
corn acreage grew 27 percent to 30.6 million acres, biotech canola
acreage increased 11 percent to 7.4 million acres, and biotech
soybean production grew 10 percent to 90.2 million acres, exceeding
more than 50 percent of the global soybean crop area for the first
time. In the United States, biotech acreage grew by approximately 8.2
million acres, mainly due to significant increases in biotech corn
and soybean acres.
The United
States, Argentina, Canada and China continued to be the leading
growers of biotech crops, with more than half of China's cotton crop
being biotech for the first time. But other countries are starting to
follow suit.
ISAAA
Acreage Report/Page Two
The report
indicates more than one-quarter of the global biotech acreage was
grown in developing countries in 2002. India, Colombia and Honduras
grew biotech crops for the first time. And, just last month, the
Philippines approved a variety of biotech corn, making this one of
the first biotech feed crops approved for planting in Asia. For the
first time, more than half the world's population lives in countries
where biotech crops are approved and grown.
"Biotechnology
continues to be the most rapidly adopted technology in agricultural
history due to the social and economic benefits the crops offer
farmers and society, particularly the 5 million resource-poor farmers
in developing countries," James says. "Biotech crops can
significantly alter the lives of these farmers, limiting the time
they must spend in the field and helping alleviate poverty."
The report
suggests Bt cotton farmers are seeing these benefits. In China,
farmers growing Bt cotton increased their income an additional $200
per acre or $750 million nationally. The study reports similar
results in South Africa, where half of farmers are women. The reduced
insecticide sprays required with Bt cotton allow the farmers more
time to care for their families or generate additional income from
other activities.
"We can
attend to other things besides staying in the field," says T.J.
Buthelezi, a cotton farmer from the Makhatini Flats of South Africa.
"Our standard of living is very much improved when we have money
to send our children to school."
The ISAAA
study also reports biotech crops are contributing to a reduction in
pesticide usage. According to the study, Bt cotton alone is estimated
to eliminate the need for 33,000 tons of insecticide globally, or 40
percent of the current global use. In 2001, six biotech crops planted
in the United States reduced pesticide use 23,000 tons.
The report
projects continued near-term growth in global acreage of biotech
crops and in the number of farmers who will use the technology. New
biotech cotton and corn products are expected to be commercialized
within the next few years as well, further increasing biotechnology's
presence around the world. By 2005, the report predicts the global
market value of biotech crops will reach $5 billion, up from
approximately $4.25 billion in 2002 and $3.8 billion just a year
before.
ISAAA
Acreage Report/Page Three
The
International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech
Applications (ISAAA) is a not-for-profit organization with an
international network of centers designed to contribute to the
alleviation of hunger and poverty by sharing crop biotechnology
applications. Clive James, chairman and founder of ISAAA, has lived
and worked for the past 25 years in the developing countries of Asia,
Latin America and Africa, devoting his efforts to agricultural
research and development issues. Lately, his focus is crop
biotechnology and global food security.
##
Click here to
download a color EPS graphic, "Global Status of Biotech Crops in 2002."
AmeriCenter,
417 Bradfield Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA §
Phone +1-607-255 1724 § Fax 244 1215 § americenter@isaaa.org
SEAsiaCenter,
c/o IRRI, DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines § Phone
+63-2-845 0563/69 § Fax 845 0606 § R.Hautea@isaaa.org
AfriCenter,
CIP/ILRI, PO Box 25171, Nairobi, Kenya § Phone +254-2-631
599/632 054 § Fax 630 005/631 599 § S.Wakhusama@isaaa.org
AsiaCenter,
c/o Technova Inc., Imperial Tower 13th Floor, 1-1-1 Uchisaiwai-cho,
Tokyo 100, Japan § Phone +81-3-350 82280 § Fax 350 87578
EuroCenter,
John Innes Centre, Colney Lane, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK § Phone
+44-1603-452 571 § Fax 456 844 § isaaa.EuroCenter@bbsrc.ac.uk
ISAAA
publishes several reports on various aspects of crop biotechnology
every year, including an annual Global Review of Commercialized
Transgenic Crops. The final Global Review for 2001 (ISAAA Brief No.
26) was published in December 2002. The report published today is a
preview of 2002 global GM crop areas and will be supplemented by the
customary comprehensive final report for 2002 toward the end of 2003.
Statistics
published in ISAAA reports are based on a consolidated database from
a broad range of sources, including government agencies and other
organizations in the public and private sector. The figures published
cover only plantings of GM crops in countries where the products have
been officially approved.
"PREVIEW
Global Status of Commercialized Transgenic Crops: 2002," by
Clive James, ISAAA Brief No. 27, can be obtained from ISAAA's
SoutheastAsia Center: e?mail publications@isaaa.org. Cost of the
publication, ISAAA Brief No. 27, is $US 35.00, including postage. The
publication is available free of charge to nationals of developing
countries.
For media
inquiries, please call (345) 947?1839 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
EST, New York, USA.
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