Genetically Modified Seeds Usage Up; India's
63 Per Cent Rise The Highest
US farmers increased
plantings by 5.7% last year to 143 million acres, accounting
for half the world's total, ISAAA said
New York: Plantings of genetically
modified seeds produced by companies including Monsanto
Co. and DuPont Co. jumped 12% in 2007, led by farmers
in India, Brazil and the US, a study has shown.
The area sown with engineered crops
grew to 283.3 million acres (114.3 million ha), Clive
James, chairman of the International Service for the
Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), said
on Wednesday.
"Biotech crops are poised for
even greater growth in the coming years, particularly
in developing countries where the need is greatest,"
the ISAAA chairman said on a conference call from the
Philippines.
"If we are to meet the need for
food, feed and biofuels, we must continue the adoption
of biotech crops," he said.
The value of modified seeds will climb
8.7% this year to $7.5 billion (Rs29,775 crore) as the
technology is used on more land and as rising demand
for food and biofuels boosts crop prices, the group
said.
US farmers increased plantings by
5.7% last year to 143 million acres, accounting for
half the world's total, ISAAA said.
The biggest gains were in Brazil,
the third largest user of the technology, where plantings
of modified cotton and soya bean increased 30% to 37
million acres, and India, which ranks fifth and raised
plantings by 63% to 15 million acres, the group said.
India's insect-resistant cotton was
grown by 3.8 million resource-poor farmers, ISAAA said.
Improved yields have allowed India
to become a net exporter of cotton, and the nation's
Supreme Court has ruled that field trials on additional
types of engineered crops may continue, James said.
James said Asian countries will approve
rice modified to boost vitamin A content and resist
insects during the next decade.
"That will be the most important
contribution of these biotech crops," James said.
About 500,000 children become blind
from vitamin A deficiency every year, and insect-resistant
crops reduce pesticide costs, he said.
ISAAA, a US-based non-profit organization
with offices in Kenya and the Philippines, tries to
alleviate hunger and poverty by sharing crop biotechnology.
It is funded by governments, foundations and companies
including US-headquartered Monsanto.
The Center for Food Safety and Friends
of the Earth Europe, opponents of biotech seeds, said
in a report that such crops don't alleviate hunger or
poverty because they are mostly used to feed animals
in rich nations and displace land once used to grow
food for local consumption.
Argentina was the second biggest user
of biotech crops last year as the Latin American country
increased plantings 6.1% to 47 million acres. Canada
was fourth, with a 15% gain to 17 million acres.
Soya bean accounted for 51% of gene-altered
crops in 2007, down from 57% in 2006, the ISAAA said.
Corn made up 31% of the global biotech area, up from
24%. Cotton and canola accounted for the remainder.
Biotech crops were planted in 23 countries last year,
one more than in 2006, and 29 nations accept imports
of the crops for food and animal feed, ISAAA said.
Engineered seeds have been sold since
1996, when they were sown on 4 million acres. The most
widespread biotech crops resist Monsanto's Roundup herbicide
or kill insects. Monsanto, the world's biggest seed-maker,
said on 10 October that 246.5 million acres containing
its engineered traits were grown last year, up 13% from
a year earlier. That would indicate Monsanto's technology,
including licences to rivals such as DuPont, was used
on 87% of the global biotech area, based on the international
group's report.
Source:
India Brand Equity Foundation Date: February 15, 2008
