ISAAA
Briefs No. 32-2004: Executive Summary
Global
Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2004
Global
Status of Biotech Crops in 2004
- 2004 is the penultimate year of the first decade
of the commercialization of genetically modified (GM) or transgenic
crops, now often called biotech
crops, as referred to consistently in this Brief. In 2004, the global
area of biotech crops continued to grow for the ninth consecutive year
at a sustained double-digit growth rate of 20%, compared with 15% in
2003. The estimated global area of approved biotech crops for 2004 was
81.0 million hectares, equivalent to 200 million acres, up from 67.7
million hectares or 167 million acres in 2003. Biotech crops were grown
by approximately 8.25 million farmers in 17 countries in 2004, up from
7 million farmers in 18 countries in 2003. Notably, 90% of the beneficiary
farmers were resource-poor farmers from developing countries, whose increased
incomes from biotech crops contributed to the alleviation of poverty.
The increase in biotech crop area between 2003 and 2004, of 13.3 million
hectares or 32.9 million acres, is the second highest on record. In 2004,
there were fourteen biotech mega-countries (compared with ten in 2003),
growing 50,000 hectares or more, 9 developing countries and 5 industrial
countries; they were, in order of hectarage, USA, Argentina, Canada,
Brazil, China, Paraguay, India, South Africa, Uruguay, Australia, Romania,
Mexico, Spain and the Philippines. During the period 1996-2004, the accumulated
global biotech crop area was 385 million hectares or 951 million acres,
equivalent to 40% of the total land area of the USA or China, or 15 times
the total land area of the UK. The continuing rapid adoption of biotech
crops reflects the substantial improvements in productivity, the environment,
economics, health and social benefits realized by both large and small
farmers, consumers and society in both industrial and developing countries.
- During the nine-year period 1996 to 2004, global
area of biotech crops increased more than 47 fold, from 1.7 million
hectares in 1996
to 81.0 million hectares in 2004, with an increasing proportion grown
by developing countries. More than one-third (34%) of the global biotech
crop area of 81 million hectares in 2004, equivalent to 27.6 million
hectares, was grown in developing countries where growth continued to
be strong. It is noteworthy that the absolute growth in biotech crop
area between 2003 and 2004 was, for the first time, higher for developing
countries (7.2 million hectares) than for industrial countries (6.1 million
hectares), with the percentage growth almost three times as high (35%)
in the developing countries of the South, compared with the industrial
countries of the North (13%). The increased hectarage and impact of the
five principal developing countries* (China, India, Argentina, Brazil
and South Africa) growing biotech crops is an important trend with implications
for the future adoption and acceptance of biotech crops worldwide; see
full Brief for biotech crop overviews for each of the five countries.
In 2004, the number of developing countries growing biotech crops (11)
was almost double the number of industrial countries (6) adopting biotech
crops.
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