November 24, 2003
Asia Holds Promising Prospect For Bt Corn
More farmers worldwide, including the Philippines, have been growing the genetically-engineered Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt) corn despite the continuing opposition against its commercial distribution, an international biotechnology research organization said.
Clive James, chair of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), said Bt maize (corn) is likely to continue experience high growth rates in the near-term in the traditional markets of the United States, Canada, Argentina, South Africa, Spain, Philippines and Honduras.
He said Asia holds promising prospects in the farming regions for the controversial crop.
Bt corn, which was developed to resist Asiatic corn borers, has already been distributed commercially in the Philippines, despite protests from various groups.
The transgenic crop, produced by US-based seed company Monsanto, was the first biotech crop to be approved for commercial planting in the Philippines, and is one of the first biotech food crops to be approved for planting in Asia.
"Subject to regulatory approval and acceptance, Asia offers significant new opportunities particularly in China and in India, Indonesia, and Thailand," James said in a report on the global assessment of biotechnology.
The report was released early this month by ISAAA's Southeast Asian Center based in Manila.
In his report, James said that in 2002, the global area of genetically modified (GM) crops has reached 58.7-million hectares which was grown in sixteen countries by some six million farmers, majority of whom were "small resource-poor farmers in developing countries."
He said the GM crop area has actually grown 35 folds between 1996 and 2002, so far one of the highest rates of adoption of any technology in agriculture.
Expectedly, the US was the largest grower of GM crops with 68%, followed by Argentina with 23%, Canada with 6% and China with 4%. 12 countries shared the remaining balance.
Bt corn, the report said, represented 9% of the 140 million hectares of corn planted worldwide. The area produces 600 million MT of maize grain per year, valued at $65 billion annually based on the 2003 international price of $108/MT.
James said that with a growing number of countries expected to accept Bt corn, the crop offers a unique opportunity and an incentive for major maize consuming developing countries to benefit from the multiple and significant benefits it offers in terms of a safer and more affordable food and feed.
"(Bt corn) can coincidentally make a major contribution to food and feed security and to the alleviation of hunger and malnutrition which claims 24,000 lives a day in the developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America," he said.
He said the potential yield gains of up to 35 million MT "represent a challenge and an opportunity to contribute to feed and food security in 2020, when, for the first time ever, maize demand will exceed the demands for wheat and rice."
"The challenge is to produce an additional 266 million MT globally to meet an unprecedented global demand totaling approximately 850 million MT of maize by 2020, fuelled by more demand for meat by a more affluent global society," James noted.
The 35 million MT potential gain from Bt maize amounts to almost a 15% contribution to the additional 266 million MT needed by 2020. Of the additional 266 million tons required globally in 2020, James cited that 80% or 213 million MT, will be required by developing countries.
However, James also raised some major constraints such as the lack of regulatory capacity in many developing countries, with acceptance and trade issues being equally important, and with the market influence of the European Union which has put up a strong opposition to GM crops.
"Political considerations related to acceptance have continued to result in rejection of the technology," he said.
James added that Bt corn has been a success only in Spain as it occupied 10% of the national maize area in 2003 which doubled from 5% in 2002.
