(Reuters) – Farmers in developing nations will sow more biotech crops than those in the industrialized world for the first time this year, with Brazil leading the charge, according to a report issued yesterday that showed steady growth in the use of genetically modified seeds.
Globally, the area planted with biotech crops rose 8 percent last year to a record 160 million hectares, or 395 million acres, slowing slightly from a 10 percent rise in 2010, said the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) in its annual report on biotech seed use.
Use in developing nations continued to grow faster than in the United States, still the biggest market by a wide margin. GMO area in developing countries rose by 11 percent or 8.2 million hectares. Growth in the United States, which grows about 43 percent of the world’s GMO crops, slowed to 3 percent.
(A full copy of the report can be found here: www.isaaa.org.)
“Developing countries grew close to 50 percent (49.875 percent) of global biotech crops in 2011 and for the first time are expected to exceed industrial countries’ hectarage in 2012,” ISAAA said in the report.
“This is contrary to the prediction of critics who, prior to the commercialization of the technology in 1996, prematurely declared that biotech crops were only for industrial countries and would never be accepted and adopted by developing countries.”
Biotech crops were planted by 16.7 million farmers in 29 countries, up from 15.4 million farmers in the same number of countries in 2010, according to the ISAAA.
“I was a little surprised that the growth was as strong as it is,” said Clive James, chairman of the ISAAA board of directors. “Millions of farmers around the world in both industrial and developing countries are adopting the technology.”
ISAAA is a not-for-profit organization aimed at promoting crop biotechnology applications, which are the subject of controversy, particularly in Europe, where they are largely banned.
Critics say there is evidence of human health dangers and environmental problems connected to genetically modified crops, though the technology companies that develop them and supporters say they are proven safe.
U.S. farmers have embraced the technology, and most of the U.S. corn and soybeans are genetically altered. Corporate biotech leaders, such as Monsanto, have crafted crops that tolerate dousings of herbicides, and crops that are designed to resist pests, effectively creating their own insecticide.
According to the ISAAA, U.S. farmers planted 69 million hectares, or 170.43 million acres, with biotech crops in 2011; followed by Brazil with 30.3 million hectares, (75 million acres) and Argentina with 23.7 million hectares (59 million acres).
