GM Crops Are the Preferred Choice of our World’s Farmers
GM Crops Are the Preferred Choice
of our World’s Farmers
SUMMARY
Millions of farmers around the world continue to choose to plant and replant genetically modified (GM) crop varieties because of their environmental and socio-economic benefits and the important role they play in maintaining food security, according to a new study.
The report, Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2013, released annually by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA), says a record 18 million farmers in 27 countries are growing biotech crops on 433 million acres.
According to the report, “The global hectarage of biotech crops have increased more than 100-fold from 1.7 million hectares (4.2 million acres) in 1996 to more than 175 million hectares in 2013 (433 million acres), making biotech crops the fastest adopted crop technology in recent history.”
BACKGROUND
The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) report provides detailed biotech crop adoption statistics around the world. ISAAA has been tracking global biotech crop adoption trends since the technology’s inception in 1996. The report is prepared and presented by Dr. Clive James, Chair of the ISAAA Board of Directors.
ISAAA is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to share knowledge on crop biotechnology so that the global community is more informed about the attributes and potential of the new technologies.
KEY FINDINGS OF THE REPORT
- 2013, was the 18th year of biotech crop commercialization (1996-2013), when growth continued after a remarkable 17 consecutive years of increases; notably 12 of the 17 years were double-digit growth rates.
- Of the 27 countries which planted biotech crops in 2013, 19 were developing and 8 were industrial countries.
- The United Sates remains the top producing country in terms of acreage growing 173 million acres in 2013 of corn, cotton, soybeans, sugarbeets, papaya, alfalfa, canola and squash.
- Along with the United States, the top five producing countries in terms of acreage are Brazil, Argentina, India and Canada, respectively.
- Bangladesh approved a biotech crop (Bt eggplant) for planting for the first time in 2013.
- Panama and Indonesia, also approved cultivation of biotech crops in 2013 for commercialization in 2014 (these countries are not included in the data for the 2013 ISAAA report).
- For the fifth consecutive year, Brazil increased its hectarage of biotech crops more than any other country in the world – a record 3.7 million hectare increase, equivalent to an impressive year-over-year increase of 10 percent.
- More than 90 percent, or 16.5 million, of farmers planting biotech crops are small and resource-poor.
- For the second year, developing countries planted more hectares of biotech crops than industrialized countries, representing confidence and trust of millions of risk-adverse farmers around the world that have experienced the benefits of these crops.
- Nearly 100 percent of farmers who try biotech crops continue to plant them year after year.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) report, Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2013 and accompanying materials are posted at www.isaaa.org.