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Development
of Biotech Crops Is Booming in Asia
By DAVID BARBOZA
HIANG RAI,
Thailand, Feb. 16 — Worried about falling behind its global
competition, much of Asia is rushing forward with the development and
cultivation of genetically modified crops.
The three most
populous countries in Asia — China, India and Indonesia —
are already planting millions of acres of genetically modified
cotton. Several other large Asian countries, including Japan,
Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia, are earmarking billions of
dollars for private and government-sponsored research on biotech crops.
Given that
there are already 145 million acres planted with genetically modified
crops worldwide, mostly in North and South America, these
developments in Asia could pave the way for bioengineered crops to
dominate the world's food production.
"This is
a significant development in the acceptance of genetically modified
crops," said Nicholas Kalaitzandonakes, a professor of
agribusiness at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "This is
not only a region where most of the population growth is, it's a
region where most of the food growth is."
Aware of food
safety concerns, especially among Europeans, most governments in Asia
plan to move cautiously before approving the use of genetically
modified food crops, which are much more controversial than nonfood
crops like cotton and flowers. China for now is holding off on
letting farmers plant biotech food crops, though tests are continuing.
But spending
on biotech research and development is booming throughout Asia,
according to delegates at a biotech policy conference sponsored here
by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group.
Malaysia is
creating a biotech hub outside Kuala Lumpur that it calls
"biovalley." Indonesia is setting up its own industrial
park, called "bioisland." Even in Japan and South Korea
— where some consumers have been unnerved by the prospect of
genetically modified foods — there are investors and others
spending heavily to develop biotech products.
Experts at the
conference said most of these countries must embrace biotechnology or
risk seeing their crops lose value in a rapidly changing marketplace
that promises a new breed of super crops.
"If they
don't employ biotechnology, they're going to be left behind,"
said Dr. Cho Kyun Rha, a professor of biomaterial sciences at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a conference participant.
"They would end up buying the seed from others, and that would
be biotech colonization."
China —
which after the United States has the most advanced biotechnology
programs — could come to dominate agricultural production in the
region, because it is so far ahead in its research on genetically
modified crops.
Already, a
majority of the cotton grown in China, the world's leading producer,
is genetically engineered to resist pests. Besides rice and tomatoes,
China has developed genetically modified corn, tobacco, sweet
peppers, petunias and poplar trees.
Other Asian
countries, meanwhile, are beginning to release their first
biotechnology products. India and Indonesia recently approved the
planting of a variety of insect-resistant biotech cotton that
drastically reduces the need for pesticides.
Indeed,
biotech cotton is so popular with farmers that a black market has
emerged in several Asian countries that have not yet approved the products.
"There's
piracy going on," said Clive James, head of the International
Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications, an
industry-sponsored organization that tracks global plantings of
biotech crops. "These farmers think so much of this technology,
they will steal it."
The enthusiasm
extends beyond cotton. The Philippines has allowed the marketing of
foods made with biotech corn, a first for Asia. The Philippines is
also the site of the International Rice Research Institute, which is
working to use biotechnology to develop "golden rice," a
variety fortified with vitamin A.
Critics of
genetically modified crops say these moves in Asia could leave
consumers around the world with little choice but to accept them.
"It's
troublesome, because these countries don't have the regulatory
infrastructure to assess the risks," said Dr. Jane Rissler of
the Union of Concerned Scientists, an advocacy group that has been
critical of biotech crops.
But in the
absence of any solid evidence that genetically modified crops are
harmful to humans, scientists in Asia are experimenting on everything
from genetically modified corn, potatoes and papaya to biotech
mustard and chili peppers.
Biotechnology
advocates in Asia believe that genetically modified crops will
increase food production, significantly reduce the use of pesticides
and insecticides and even create drought-resistant crops that can
grow on land now regarded as non-arable. Farmers' incomes will rise,
they claim, with the greatest benefits in the the poorest regions.
China has over
20,000 people employed in government-led research at about 200 labs.
Government spending on biotech research has tripled in recent years
and could top $1.5 billion for the five years ending in 2005, making
China second only to the United States in this area.
The rest of
Asia is now playing catch up. India is conducting biotech research at
most of its major universities. Japan and South Korea expect to spend
over $300 million a year on biotech research. Malaysia wants to
engineer palm oil trees genetically to serve as factories of
specialized plastics for medical devices. Vietnam and Singapore, too,
are exploring the development of portfolios of biotech crops.
China's
enthusiasm is dictated from the top. But both there and in India
— places where small farmers work under the harshest conditions,
often suffering from the effects of their own pesticide spraying
— biotech crops have mainly been seen as beneficial.
However,
Japan, a major food importer, has been reluctant to accept
genetically modified crops, because of concerns about food safety.
Opposition in Europe has prompted China to place a moratorium on
biotech food crops that had already been approved for commercialization.
Some experts
say the world's largest seed and biotechnolgy companies are lobbying
in Asia to promote genetically modified crops and to sway regulators
and public opinion.
"They
fear if they don't succeed there, the future could be a rocky
one," said Neil Harl, a professor of agricultural economics at
Iowa State University. "So there's this enormous effort under way."
There is a
push — articulated by several delegates at the conference here
— to coordinate regulatory, food labeling and trade policies to
ensure the success of genetically modified foods.
"With
today's globalization, you can't have some do it and some don't,"
said Dr. Chen Zhangliang, a professor at Beijing University and one
of the leaders of China's biotechnology program, who delivered a
fierce attack on biotech critics. "You need to have these issues
harmonized."
Some policy
makers also worry that cross-border seed piracy could create legal
trade and regulatory disputes. Biotech cotton leaked into India long
before the country approved its planting. And pirated seeds are
believed to be in wide use today in Thailand and Pakistan.
For many
governments in Asia, though, biotechnology appears to be seen as a
potential silver bullet for a host of food and agriculture ills, and
a means to create new products that could sell for higher prices.
"We are
trying to develop the blue orchid," said Sotat Sriwattanapong,
who works at Biotec, a government agency in Bangkok. "It doesn't
exist in nature. But this may attract the people or the market."
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