February 12 2009
Global GMO Plantings on the Rise
Global plantings of genetically modified corn, soybeans and other crops grew 9.4 percent last year as economic challenges spurred growing political will to adopt biotech crops that help farmers fight weeds, pests and crop diseases, an industry-backed study said on Wednesday.
More than 13 million farmers in 25 countries planted 125 million hectares, or 308.8 million acres, of biotech crops last year, up 9.4 percent from 2007, according to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA), which receives public and private funding, including from commercial biotech crop companies.
"We've seen progress on many fronts," said ISAAA founder and chairman Clive James. ISAAA said increasing demand for food in hungry countries was spurring demand and predicted a second wave of strong adoption through at least 2015.
Bolivia became the ninth country in Latin America to adopt biotech crops last year, while Burkina Faso in Africa began planting biotech cotton, and Egypt planted biotech maize for the first time, ISAAA said.
World food prices soared last year amid production problems and increased use of corn for biofuels even as many countries slid into economic crisis.
Farmers in the United States, home of biotech crop leader Monsanto Co. remained by far the largest users of biotech crops, planting an estimated 62.5 million hectares, or fully half of global plantings, with biotech crops in 2008. Following the United States, Argentina planted 21 million hectares, Brazil 15.8 million, India and Canada each 7.6 million, and China planted 3.8 million hectares.
Genetically altered soybeans continued to be the most popular biotech crop, planted on 65.8 million hectares, followed by biotech corn planted on 37.3 million hectares and biotech cotton planted on 15.5 million hectares.
Source: Cotton International
