In This
Issue:
SIX COUNTRIES NOW PLANTING 99% OF GM CROPS
Brazil and South Africa now join the United States, Argentina, Canada
and China as the leading growers of genetically modified (GM) crops.
These six countries, up from four in 2002, are responsible for 99
percent of the global biotech crop areas. China and South Africa
experienced the greatest annual increase, with both countries planting
one-third more biotech hectares than in 2002. This was reported by
Dr. Clive James, chairman and founder of the International Service
for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) in his latest
preview on the global status of commercialized transgenic crops for
2003.
James also adds that the remaining top countries planting more than
50,000 hectares are Australia, India, Romania and Uruguay. Eight
countries each plant up to 50,000 hectares of biotech crops. These
are Spain, Mexico, Philippines, Colombia, Bulgaria, Honduras, Germany,
and Indonesia.
The preview published as ISAAA Briefs No. 30 stated that 7 million
farmers in 18 countries or more than 85 percent resource-poor farmers
in the developing world, now plant biotech crops. About 167.2 million
acres or 67.7 million hectares are now planted worldwide to biotech
crops or about a 15 percent increase over 2002 figures.
For more information, read the executive summary at http://www.isaaa.org/kc.
For publication orders write to publications@isaaa.org. The preview
is available free of charge to nationals of developing countries.
Translations
of ISAAA’s press release on the preview is also
available in French, Portugese, Hindi, Thai, Bahasa Indonesia, German,
Italian, Spanish, and Spanish (Argentina). Download these translations
from http://www.isaaa.org/kc.
ACRE ISSUES ADVICE ON UK FARM SCALE TRIALS
The Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE) told
the British government that biotech corn grown under the same conditions
as in the field trials would not harm the environment. It also advised
that biotech rapeseed and sugar beet, if grown under the same conditions
as in the field trials, may have environmental risks. The advice
was based on the results of the Farm Scale Evaluations (FSE) published
in October.
British Environment
Secretary Margaret Beckett stated that the government will review
ACRE's advice "very carefully" before deciding
on whether it will recommend the EU to change its rules on growing
biotech crops. She added that “the Government is neither pro-nor
anti-GM crops – our over-riding concern is to protect human
health and the environment, and to ensure genuine consumer choice.”
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) reports
that Ministers have also received advice on the FSE results from
English Nature, on behalf of the statutory conservation bodies. English
Nature said that on the basis of the FSE results, genetically modified
herbicide tolerant (GMHT) spring oilseed rape and beet should not
be commercialized, but that GMHT corn may be commercialized subject
to certain conditions.
The
DEFRA news report is available online at http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/latest/2004/gm-0104.htm.
For more of English Nature visit http://www.english-nature.org.uk.
NCFAP: GM CROPS COULD BENEFIT EUROPEAN AGRICULTURE
“The widespread adoption of plant biotechnology in maize,
oilseed rape, wheat, rice, tomatoes, potatoes, sugarbeets and stone
fruit in Europe would result in significant yield increases, savings
for growers and pesticide use reductions,” says Leonard Gianessi,
Sujatha Sankula, and Nathan Reigner of the National Center for Food
and Agricultural Policy (NCFAP) in their recent comprehensive study
on genetically modified crops entitled “Plant Biotechnology:
Potential Impact for Improving Pest Management in European Agriculture.”
Gianessi and
colleagues added that collectively the nine biotech crops have
the potential to increase yields by 8.5 billion kilograms
per year, increase grower net income by €1.6 billion per year,
and reduce pesticide use by 14.4 million kilograms per year. Among
the six new case studies featured in the report, biotech tomato offers
the greatest yield and grower income increase. Herbicide tolerant
maize, on the other hand, would have the largest reduction in pesticide
usage.
The other findings of the said comprehensive study are as follows:
- Biotech
herbicide tolerant crops would enable European growers to use fewer
herbicide active ingredients at a lower cost to achieve
equivalent (maize, wheat, rice) or better (sugarbeet, rapeseed) control
with higher yields.
- Use
of biotech varieties developed at European institutions could
eliminate the losses and enable tomato growers to reduce their use
of insecticides.
- The
biotech potato that is resistant to the late blight disease
provides another choice to the management and control of the said
disease.
A copy of the executive summary is available at http://www.ncfap.org/reports/Europe/
ExecutiveSummaryDecember.pdf.
BRAZIL GOING GM IS TOP 2003 DEVELOPMENT
The most important development for genetically modified (GM) crops
in 2003 was the first approval for commercialization of any GM crop
in Brazil. Specifically, this involved the passage in September of
a Presidential decree by the Government of Brazil to allow, for the
first time, the planting of herbicide tolerant soybeans for the 2003-2004
crop. Brazil is currently second to the United States in soybean
hectarage and is projected to become the top soybean producer in
the world. This observation was forwarded by Dr. Clive James, chair
and founder of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech
Applications (ISAAA) in the latest preview on the global status of
commercialized transgenic crops for 2003.
James notes that the decree is an interim measure pending passage
of a new law to regulate the procedures for evaluation and approval
of all GM crops and thus is a provisional approval for one year to
allow planting of GM soybean for 2003-2004. President Luiz Inacio
Lula de Silva of Brazil had earlier officially approved the sale
of the harvest from the 2002-2003 herbicide tolerant soybean crop.
An executive summary of the Clive James report (ISAAA Briefs 30)
is available online at http://www.isaaa.org/kc.
BIOTECH HOLDS GREAT PROMISE FOR BULGARIAN FARMERS
Taking into account
the possibility of adopting biotechnology in Bulgaria, Atanas Atanassov
and K. Georgieva of the AgroBioInstitute
in Bulgaria stated that “plant biotechnology is the most suitable
alternative (to conventional farming), complementing the drawbacks
of traditional plant breeding programs which are rather labor intensive
and time consuming.”
Atanassov and Georgieva added that biotechnology is ideal in Bulgaria
since it has a continental climate (very cold winter and very hot
summer). Diseases and pests are also prevalent due to the varying
climatic and soil conditions from region to region. Crop losses every
year are estimated at 15 to 50 percent.
The authors recognized
that genetically modified (GM) crops have indeed raised concerns
in Europe. However, they believe that consumers
should be provided sufficient information to enable them to make
informed choices, thus only then can GM crops be made acceptable
in Europe. Open and informed debates about the science’s risks
and benefits must also be held with all the important stakeholders.
Lastly, food supply is not an issue in Europe due to the large surplus
of agricultural products. However, according to the authors, there
is still room for biotech products and new technologies that could
improve the nutritional value of agricultural products. They also
encouraged the creation of a regulatory framework that is based on
sound science, and determined by experts and endorsed by policy-makers.
For
more information email, Atanas Atanassov at atanas_atanassov@agrobioinstitut.org.
The AgroBioInstitute website can also be viewed at http://www.geocities.com/PicketFence/
Garden/9151/
EUROPE "SUFFERS ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES" FROM GM MORATORIUM
A study of the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology
(VIB) in Belgium argues that Europe has missed out economically through
the ban on genetically modified (GM) crops. Matty Demont and Eric
Tollens, researchers at the Catholic University of Leuven, base their
findings on two case studies on GM sugar beets and corn.
Demont and Tollens concluded that the present situation (in which
transgenic sugar beets are barred) is not economically rational.
In addition, their study on the current cultivation of transgenic
corn in Spain shows that Spanish farmers have clearly benefited from
the crop.
To estimate the consequences of the ban on transgene sugar beets
in the period from 1996 to 2000, the researchers used a simulation
model that took into account agricultural policy, the cultivation
data of sugar beet, and the technology subsidy for transgene crops.
According to the researchers, by not choosing to grow transgene sugar
beets, the Belgian sugar beet growers have missed out on approximately
EUR15 million during this five-year period, and that worldwide up
to EUR1 billion could have been earned by cultivating these sugar
beets.
For the study on GM in Spain, the researchers noted that farmers
gained EUR1.7million annually. Their profit was attributed to higher
yield and lower cost from reduced use of pesticide. The biotech industry
also reaped an annual profit of EUR0.5 million.
The researchers averred that 75 percent of the profits went to the
farmers and 25 percent to the biotech industry.
For more on the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology,
visit
http://www.vib.be.
MALAYSIAN PM SUPPORTS AGBIOTECH
The Malaysian Prime Minister, Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, believes
the Malaysian government needs to catalyze agriculture, agro-based
industries, and biotechnology - "industries that appear to have
good potential given our distinct advantages." He said that
although Malaysian biotechnology is still in its infancy, the country
had great potential given its vast biodiversity. He shared these
thoughts during the NEAC Dialogue Forum in Malaysia.
The Prime Minister,
however, stressed that while “these sectors
are on the government's list of priorities, it is still incumbent
on the private sector to lead the investment and promotion of viable
businesses in these industries. The government will ensure that it
supports these sectors, in terms of incentives and funds, but it
will not participate in a manner that will crowd out the private
sector."
Meanwhile, Kuala Lumpur is the site of the Seventh meeting of the
Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity
and the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Cartegena
Protocal on Biosafety to be held on February 9-27, 2004. Sessions
will be held at the Putra World Trade Center.
Priority issues include the biological diversity of mountain ecosystems,
the role of protected areas in the preservation of biological diversity,
and the transfer of technology and technology cooperation. The other
meeting will deal with issues such as information sharing including
the Biosafety Clearing-House; capacity-building; liability and redress;
compliance; and handling, transport, packaging and identification
of living modified organisms.
For more information visit http://www.biodiv.org/default.aspx
NEW ISAAA-KC WEBSITE
The Global Knowledge
Center on Crop Biotechnology (KC) recently updated its website
which can be viewed at www.isaaa.org/kc. The
Crop Biotech Update news can now be searched via the different news
categories. Also, the global status carries the latest information
on biosafety regulations, global value of genetically modified (GM)
crops, global research and development (R&D) expenditures, labeling
legislation, public attitudes of consumers worldwide, and position
statements from selected organizations. |
