1th quarter 2005

Worldwide area under cultivation with genetically modified crops rises to 81 million hectares

The area under cultivation with genetically modified (GM) crops in 2004 increased by a further 20% over the previous year to total 81 million hectares, according to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA). Genetically modified crops were grown by approximately 8.25 million farmers in 17 countries, and for the first time, the hectarage of GM crops grew more rapidly in developing countries than in industrialised countries. The market value of GM crops amounted to US$ 4.7bn in 2004, and estimates for 2005 exceed US$ 5bn. For the year 2015, ISAAA predicts that more than 15 million farmers will cultivate GM crops on 150 million hectares in 30 countries.

The principal areas of GM-crop cultivation are in the USA (59% of the total area under cultivation), Argentina (20%), Canada (6%), Brazil (6%), China (5%), Paraguay (2%), India (1%) and South Africa (1%) - but GM crops are also being grown in Uruguay, Australia, Mexico, the Philippines, Honduras and Colombia. In Europe, there are only two countries where GM crops are being cultivated to a significant extent: Rumania, which has 100,000 hectares of GM soybeans, and Spain, which has 60,000 hectares of maize. In Germany, GM crops are being grown in field trials.

The most important genetically modified crop is the soybean, which is cultivated on 48.4 million hectares or 56% of the world's total soybean hectarage. The second most important GM crop is maize, which is being grown on 19.3 million hectares (14% of the world's total maize hectarage). Genetically modified cotton is being cultivated on 9 million hectares (28% of the world total), and GM oilseed rape on 4.3 million hectares (19%).

The genetically modified traits are still almost exclusively herbicide tolerance and insect resistance. Herbicide tolerance (in soybeans, maize, oilseed rape and cotton) is the distinguishing trait of 72% of all GM crops, while insect resistance has been incorporated in 19%, and a combination of the two traits has been given to 9% of GM plants. In absolute terms, herbicide-tolerant soybeans alone account for 60% of the total area under cultivation with GM crops, and insect-resistant maize makes up another 14%.

Ninety percent of the 8.25 million farmers growing GM crops are located in developing countries, with 7 million farmers growing GM cotton in China alone. If China permits the cultivation of genetically engineered rice, it will have worldwide significance. This is expected to happen as early as this year, and will have a major impact on the worldwide acceptance of GM crops.