Bt cotton spins success count

Questions about the success of Bt cotton notwithstanding, biotech crop hectarage grew 100 per cent between 2002 and 2003 in India. The princ...

Questions about the success of Bt cotton notwithstanding, biotech crop hectarage grew 100 per cent between 2002 and 2003 in India. The principal factor for the growth: Significant gains in Bt cotton area, to approximately 100,000 acres in 2003.

The figures emerge from a report released last week by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), a not-for-profit organisation working on the alleviation of hunger and poverty by sharing crop biotechnology applications.

The Indian trend is in keeping with the larger international trend: For the seventh consecutive year, biotech crops are growing at a double-digit pace, with the 2003 total up 15 percent to 67.7 million hectares. India, incidentally, planted biotech crops (cotton) for the first time in 2002.

Story continues below this ad

Another interesting fact is that 7 million farmers in 18 countries — more than 85 per cent resource-poor farmers in the developing world — now plant biotech crops, up from 6 million in 16 countries in 2002. Almost one-third of the global biotech crop area was grown in developing countries, up from one-quarter last year.

‘‘Farmers have made up their minds,’’ said Clive James, chairman and founder of ISAAA. ‘‘They continue to rapidly adopt biotech crops because of significant agronomic, economic, environmental and social advantages.’’

The number of countries responsible for 99 per cent of the global biotech crop area expanded to six, up from four in 2002, according to the report. Brazil and South Africa joined the United States, Argentina, Canada and China as the leading growers of biotech crops.

China and South Africa experienced the greatest annual increase, with both countries planting one-third more biotech hectares than in 2002. The other top 10 countries planting more than 50,000 hectares are Australia, India, Romania and Uruguay.

Story continues below this ad

Elsewhere in Asia, China increased biotech crop hectarage 33 per cent as a result of significant gains in Bt cotton area. A total of 2.8 million hectares of Bt cotton was grown in 2003, up from 2.1 million hectares in 2002. The Philippines grew 20,000 hectares of Bt maize, making it the first biotech food/feed crop planted in Asia.

Biotech soyabeans continue to lead all hectares globally with an increase of nearly 13 percent to 41.4 million hectares, or 55 per cent of soya beans produced globally.

Within the next five years, ISAAA predicts 10 million farmers in 25 or more countries will plant 100 million hectares of biotech crops. According to the report, the global market value of biotech crops is expected to increase from approximately $4.5 billion this year to $5 billion or more by 2005.