February 12, 2009
Global GM crop plantings on an upward trend
Global plantings of GM corn, soy and other crops grew 9.4 percent last year, as economic challenges melt away the resistance against biotech crops, according to an industry-backed study on Wednesday (Feb 11).
More than 13 million farmers worldwide planted 125 million hectares of biotech crops last year, said the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA).
ISAAA said growing food demand may spur a second wave of strong GM crop planting adoption through at least 2015.
Bolivia became the ninth country in Latin America to adopt biotech crops last year, while Burkina Faso in Africa and Egypt also started planting biotech crops for the first time.
The increased planting of GM crops may pose a serious challenge to the EU and other countries that resist the use of GM crops, as feed prices would be driven up due to a tightening supply of non-GM grains.
