ISAAA Brief 52 Launched in Beijing, Manila, Yogyakarta, and Tokyo

ISAAA has released the 21st Brief in its global status of commercialized biotech/GM crops series in Beijing, China on May 4, 2017. Brief 52 companion documents include the Executive Summary (available in six language translations), press release (available in nine language translations), infographics, video, and Powerpoint slides available at the ISAAA website.

Year after year, ISAAA prepares the global status report and supports its free distribution to developing countries to provide information and knowledge to the scientific community and facilitate a more informed and transparent discussion regarding the potential role of biotech crops in contributing to global food, feed, fiber, and fuel security, and a more sustainable agriculture.

The 2016 Global Status Report documents the global database on the adoption and distribution of biotech crops in the world in 2016, when ~18 million farmers from 26 countries planted 185.1 million hectares of biotech crops. Below are summaries of the country launches held for the 2016 Global Status Report.


BEIJING, CHINA

Brief 52 was launched in two events held on May 4 and 5, 2017 in Beijing, China, organized in cooperation with China Biotechnology Information Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and the Chinese Biotechnology Society.

The media conference held on May 4, 2017 at China Wold Hotel was attended by some 40 journalists from Chinese and international news agencies. ISAAA Chair, Dr. Paul Teng, presented the highlights of the report, while ISAAA Senior Program Officer, Dr. Rhodora Aldemita, talked about the development and adoption of biotech crops in Asia.

On May 5, a seminar was held at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which was attended by 120 scientists, members of the academe, and students. Drs. Teng and Aldemita presented the highlights of 2016 report. Mr. Zhang Xianfa from the Ag GMO Division of the Ministry of Agriculture discussed the status of Chinese biotech crops regulation and development. The participants signified their interest in the adoption of more biotech crops in the country to benefit not just the farmers and their families, but also the consumers.

Read the Crop Biotech Update article here. 

MANILA, PHILIPPINES

On May 19, 2017, media practitioners, farmers, and government agency officers attended the Brief 52 launch in Manila during a media conference at the Acacia Hotel, Alabang, Muntinlupa City, Philippines.

Dr. Teng presented the report, including the global impact and future prospects of biotech crops. SEARCA Director Dr. Gil C. Saguiguit, Jr. said that the 2016 figures surpass previous records and attest to the effectiveness and benefits of biotechnology. 

Officer-in-Charge and Director of the Bureau of Plant Industry and Director of the Philippine Agriculture and Fisheries Biotechnology Program of the Department of Agriculture, Dr. Vivencio R. Mamaril, reported on the biosafety regulatory developments in the country, particularly the harmonization of the Joint Department Circular by the five government departments, namely the Departments of Agriculture; Science and Technology; Environment and Natural Resources; Health; and the Interior and Local Government. The JDC is the latest biosafety regulatory guidelines for biotech crops in the Philippines, and is expected to regulate the testing and commercialization of other biotech crops in the pipeline, including Bt eggplant, PRSV-R papaya, Bt cotton, and Golden Rice.

Read the Crop Biotech Update article here.

YOGYAKARTA, INDONESIA

Brief 52 was launched at Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia on May 23, 2016 during a one-day national seminar on biotechnology. The event, organized by ISAAA and the Indonesian Biotechnology Information Centre (IndoBIC) was attended by some 90 members of the academe, local government representatives, media practitioners, and students. Ir. Arofa Noor Indriani MSI, Director of Food Security Agency of Yogyakarta Province, graced the event and gave the welcome message.

Dr. Aldemita presented the 2016 Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops. Dr. Mahaletchumy Arujanan, Executive Director of the Malaysian Biotechnology Information Centre (MABIC), gave an overview of biotech/GM crop adoption in Asia, while Dr. Muhammad Herman discussed the research and development of biotech product and its regulation in Indonesia. Scientists from Gadjah Mada University, Bogor Agricultural University, and Yogyakarta province presented updates on agri-biotech research.

Drs. Aldemita and Arujanan, together with IndoBIC Director, Prof. Dr. Bambang Purwantara, and Dr. Herman were guests on live television interviews on Jogja TV on May 22, and Kompass TV on May 23.

Read the Crop Biotech Update article here.

TOKYO, JAPAN

Dr. Aldemita presented the highlights of Brief 52 at the seminar launch of ISAAA at Asahi Seminar Hall, Tokyo, Japan on May 30, 2017. The seminar launch was organized by CBIJ and NBIC with 120 participants, including the media, government representatives, academe, and the industry. 

During the seminar launch, Dr. Fusao Tomita, director of Nippon Biotechnology Information Center (NBIC) opined that Hokkaido farmers are interested in planting biotech sugar beet and consumers should be educated on substantial equivalence of sugar derived from biotech and non-biotech sugar beet.

Read the Crop Biotech Update article here.

More information about ISAAA Brief 52 Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2016 are available at the ISAAA website.

For more information about ISAAA, visit http://www.isaaa.org/, or follow ISAAA on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/isaaa.org) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/isaaa_org).

Biotech/GM Crops Surge to a New Peak of 185.1 Million Hectares in 2016

Global area rebounds from 2015 as farmers continue to adopt biotech crops 

The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) has released the Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2016, its annual report showcasing the 110-fold increase in the global adoption rate of biotech crops in 21 years of commercialization – growing from 1.7 million hectares in 1996 to 185.1 million hectares in 2016. The 2016 Report continues to demonstrate the long-standing benefits of biotech crops for farmers in developing and industrialized countries, as well as consumer benefits of recently approved and commercialized varieties. 

“Biotech crops have become a vital agricultural resource for farmers around the world because of the immense benefits for improved productivity and profitability, as well as conservation efforts,” said Dr. Paul S. Teng, ISAAA Board Chair. “With the commercial approvals and plantings of new varieties of biotech potatoes and apples, consumers will begin to enjoy direct benefits of biotechnology with produce that is not likely to spoil or be damaged, which in turn has the potential to substantially reduce food waste and consumer grocery costs.”

The adoption of biotech crops has reduced CO2 emissions equal to removing ~12 million cars from the road annually in recent years; conserved biodiversity by removing 19.4 million hectares of land from agriculture in 2015; and decreased the environmental impact with a 19% reduction in herbicide and insecticide use (Brookes and Barfoot, 2017, Forthcoming). Additionally, in developing countries, planting biotech crops has helped alleviate hunger by increasing the incomes for 18 million small farmers and their families, bringing improved financial stability to more than 65 million people. 

“Biotechnology is one of the tools necessary in helping farmers grow more food on less land. However, the promises of biotech crops can only be unlocked if farmers are able to buy and plant these crops, following a scientific approach to regulatory reviews and approvals.”

- Dr. Randy A. Hautea, ISAAA Global Coordinator

As more varieties of biotech crops are approved and commercialized for use by farmers, ISAAA expects to see adoption rates continue to climb and to benefit farmers in developing countries. For example, among African nations where regulatory processes have traditionally created barriers to biotech crop adoption rates, advances are being realized. In 2016, South Africa and Sudan increased the planting of biotech maize, soybean and cotton to 2.66 million hectares from 2.29 million hectares in 2015. Elsewhere on the continent, a new wave of acceptance is emerging as Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Swaziland and Uganda make advances in regulatory review and commercial approvals for a variety of biotech crops.

“Even with a long history of regulatory barriers, African farmers continue to adopt biotech crops because of the value they are realizing from the stability and productivity of biotech varieties,” said Hautea. “As more countries move forward with regulatory reviews for crops such as bananas, cowpeas and sorghum, we believe biotech crop plantings will continue to grow in Africa and elsewhere.”

Also in 2016, Brazil increased biotech area of maize, soybean, cotton and canola by a remarkable 11% – maintaining its ranking as the second largest producer of biotech crops after the United States. In Brazil, biotech soybeans account for 32.7 million hectares of the 91.4 million hectares grown worldwide.



For 2016, ISAAA also reports that there were improvements in the commercialization and plantings of biotech fruits and vegetables with direct consumer benefits. These included the commercial approvals of the Innate™ Russet Burbank Gen 2 potatoes that were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for sale in the United States and the Simplot Gen 1 White Russet™ brand potatoes that were approved by Health Canada for fresh market sale in Canada. These biotech potato varieties have lower levels of asparagine, which reduces the creation of acrylamide during high-heat cooking. Additionally, the first commercially saleable quantities of Arctic® Apples were harvested in 2016, stored over the winter and are projected to be sold in U.S. grocery stores in 2017.

Additional highlights from ISAAA’s 2016 report include:

• Global area rebounded in 2016 with 185.1 million hectares of biotech crops versus 179. 7 million hectares 2015, when global area for all crops was down, and 181.5 million hectares in 2014. 
• In 2016, 26 countries in total, including 19 developing and 7 industrial countries, grew biotech crops. Developing countries grew 54% of biotech crops, compared to 46% for industrial nations. 
• Eight countries in Asia and the Pacific, including China and India, grew 18.6 million hectare of biotech crops in 2016.
• 10 countries in Latin America, including Paraguay and Uruguay, grew a combined 80 million hectares of biotech crops in 2016. 
• In 2016, the leading countries growing biotech crops continued to be represented by the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Canada and India. Combined, these five countries planted 91% of the global biotech crop area. 
• Four countries in Europe -- Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic Slovakia -- grew more than 136,000 hectares of biotech maize in 2016, an increase of 17% from 2015, reflecting EU’s need for insect resistant maize. 
• Biotech crops with stacked traits accounted for 41% of global area, second only to herbicide tolerance at 47%.
• Biotech soybean varieties accounted for 50% of global biotech crop area. Based on global area for individual crops, 78% of soybean, 64% of cotton, 26% of maize and 24% of canola planted in the world were biotech varieties.
• Countries with over 90% adoption of biotech soybean are U.S.A, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, South Africa, and Uruguay; close to or over 90% adoption of biotech maize are USA, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, South Africa, and Uruguay; over 90% of biotech cotton are USA, Argentina, India, China, Pakistan, South Africa, Mexico, Australia, and Myanmar; and with 90% or more of biotech canola are USA and Canada.

For more information and other details about the report, visit the Brief 52 page at the ISAAA website.

2015 Marks Two Billion Hectares of Biotech Crop Plantings

Farmers Reap >US$150 Billion from Advances in Biotech Crops over 20 Years

The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) has released this week its annual report detailing the adoption of biotech crops, 20th Anniversary of the Global Commercialization of Biotech Crops (1996-2015) and Biotech Crop Highlights in 2015, showcasing the global increase in biotech hectarage from 1.7 million hectares in 1996 to 179.7 million hectares in 2015. This 100-fold increase in just 20 years makes biotechnology the fastest adopted crop technology in recent times, reflecting farmer satisfaction with biotech crops.

Since 1996, 2 billon hectares of arable land – a massive area more than twice the landmass of China, 

or the United States – have been planted with biotech crops. Additionally, it is estimated that farmers in up to 28 countries have reaped more than US$150 billion in benefits from biotech crops since 1996. This has helped alleviate poverty for up to 16.5 million small farmers and their families annually totaling about 65 million people, who are some of the poorest people in the world.

“More farmers are planting biotech crops in developing countries precisely because biotech crops are a rigorously-tested option for improving crop yields,” said Clive James, founder and emeritus chair of ISAAA, who has authored the ISAAA report for the past two decades. “Despite claims from opponents that biotechnology only benefits farmers in industrialized countries, the continued adoption of the technology in developing countries disproves that” James added.

For the fourth consecutive year, developing countries planted more biotech crops (14.5 million hectares) than industrialized countries. In 2015, Latin American, Asian and African farmers grew biotech crops on 54 percent of global biotech hectarage (97.1 million hectares of 179.7 million biotech hectares) and of the 28 countries that planted biotech crops, 20 were developing nations. Annually, up to 18 million farmers, 90 percent of whom were small, resource-poor growers in developing countries, benefited from planting biotech crops from 1996 to 2015.

“China is just one example of biotechnology’s benefits for farmers in developing countries. Between 1997 and 2014, biotech cotton varieties brought an estimated $17.5 billion worth of benefits to Chinese cotton farmers, and they realized $1.3 billion in 2014 alone,” explained ISAAA Global Coordinator, Randy Hautea.

Also in 2015, India became the leading cotton producer in the world with much of its growth attributed to biotech Bt cotton. India is the largest biotech cotton country in the world with 11.6 million hectares planted in 2015 by 7.7 million small farmers. In 2014 and 2015, an impressive 95 percent of India’s cotton crop was planted with biotech seed; China’s adoption in 2015 was 96 percent.

“Farmers, who are traditionally risk-averse, recognize the value of biotech crops, which offer benefits to farmers and consumers alike, including drought tolerance, insect and disease resistance, herbicide tolerance, and increased nutrition and food quality,” Hautea added. “Moreover, biotech crops contribute to more sustainable crop production systems that address concerns regarding climate change and global food security.”

Following a remarkable run of 19 years of consecutive growth from 1996 to 2014, with 12 years of double-digit growth, the global hectarage of biotech crops peaked at 181.5 million hectares in 2014, compared with 179.7 million hectares in 2015, equivalent to a net marginal decrease of 1 percent. This change is principally due to an overall decrease in total crop hectarage, associated with low prices for commodity crops in 2015. ISAAA anticipates that total crop hectarage will increase when crop prices improve. For example, Canada has projected that canola hectarage in 2016 will revert to the higher level of 2014. Other factors affecting biotech hectarage in 2015 include the devastating drought in South Africa, which led to a massive 23 percent decrease of 700,000 hectares in intended plantings in 2015. The drought in eastern and southern Africa in 2015/2016 puts up to 15 to 20 million poor people at risk for food insecurity and compels South Africa, usually a maize exporter, to rely on maize imports.

Additional highlights from ISAAA’s 2015 report include:

• New biotech crops were approved and/or commercialized in several countries, including the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Canada and Myanmar.
• The United States saw a number of firsts, including the commercialization of new products such as:
• Innate™ Generation 1 potatoes, with lower levels of acrylamide, a potential carcinogen, and resistance to bruising. InnateTM Generation 2, approved in 2015, also has late blight resistance. It is noteworthy that the potato is the fourth most important food crop in the world.
• Arctic® Apples that do not brown when sliced. 
• The first non-transgenic genome-edited crop to be commercialized globally, SU Canola™, was planted in the United States. 
• The first-time approval of a GM animal food product, GM salmon, for human consumption.
• Biotech crops with multiple traits, often called “stacked traits,” were planted on 58.5 million hectares, representing 33 percent of all biotech hectares planted and a 14 percent year-over-year increase.
• Vietnam planted a stacked-trait biotech Bt and herbicide-tolerant maize as its first biotech crop.
• Biotech DroughtGard™ maize, first planted in the United States in 2013, increased 15-fold from 50,000 hectares in 2013 to 810,000 hectares reflecting high farmer acceptance. 
• Sudan increased Bt cotton hectarage by 30 percent to 120,000 hectares, while various factors precluded a higher hectarage in Burkina Faso. 
• Eight African countries field-tested, pro-poor, priority African crops, the penultimate step prior to approval.

Looking ahead to the future of biotechnology in agriculture, ISAAA has identified three key opportunities to realize continued growth in adoption of biotech crops, which are as follows:·

• High rates of adoption (90 percent to 100 percent) in current major biotech markets leave little room for expansion. However, there is a significant potential in other “new” countries for selected products, such as biotech maize, which has a potential of approximately 100 million more hectares globally, 60 million hectares in Asia, of which 35 million is in China alone, plus 35 million hectares in Africa. 
• More than 85 potential new products in the pipeline are now being field-tested; including a biotech drought tolerant maize from the WEMA project (Water Efficient Maize for Africa) expected to be released in Africa in 2017, Golden Rice in Asia, and fortified bananas and pest-resistant cowpea in Africa. 
• CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspersed Short Palindromic Repeats) a new powerful genome editing technology has significant comparative advantages over conventional and GM crops in four domains: precision, speed, cost and regulation. When combined with other advances in crop sciences, CRISPR could increase crop productivity in a “sustainable intensification” mode on the 1.5 billion hectares of global arable land, and make a vital contribution to global food security.

For more information and other details about the 2015 report, visit www.isaaa.org.

Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops 2014 Launched in Beijing; Media Conferences Held in Asian Countries

Since 1996, during the first year of commercialization of biotech crops, ISAAA has released the annual “Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops” (ISAAA Brief No. 49), a Report that documents the latest information on the global status of commercially approved biotech crops. Year after year, ISAAA prepares the Report and supports its free distribution to developing countries to provide information and knowledge to the scientific community and facilitate a more informed and transparent discussion regarding the potential role of biotech crops in contributing to global food, feed, fiber, and fuel security, and a more sustainable agriculture.

The 2014 Global Status Report is the 19th Brief in the series, and documents the global database on the adoption and distribution of biotech crops in the world in 2014, when 18 million farmers from 28 countries planted 181.5 million hectares of biotech crops. Below are summaries of the country launches held for the 2014 Global Status Report.

BEIJING, CHINA

Brief 49 was launched at the China World Hotel in Beijing, China on January 28, 2015, with 35 media representatives. A seminar where Dr. Clive James presented the global status of commercialized biotech/GM crops in 2014 was held at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) on January 29, and co-organized by CAAS, ISAAA, China BIC, and five professional societies in China. The seminar was attended by 200 stakeholders from the government, academe, research institutes, media agencies, and private companies. Guests during the seminar include Dr. Chen Zhangliang, Vice President of China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), Dr. Paul Teng, and Dr. Randy Hautea.

Dr. James presenting the global status of commercialized biotech/GM crops during the seminar in Beijing, China.

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA

In Seoul, the media seminar for Brief 49 was held at The Plaza Hotel on January 30. It was attended by more than 60 people from the government, academe, and private companies. Dr. James presented the global status of commercialized biotech/GM crops in 2014. The seminar was co-organized by Dr. Soo-Chul Park, director of the National Center for GM Crops (NCGC) of the Next-Generation BioGreen21 Program in RDA, South Korea; and Dr. Tae-San Kim, director of CropLife Asia.

Dr. Park emphasized the need for the development of GM crops in Korea and mentioned 4 events (drought tolerant rice, herbicide-resistant/male sterility grass, virus resistant red pepper) that are under risk assessment.

More than 60 people from the government, academe, and private companies attended the seminar in Seoul.

TOKYO, JAPAN

The seminar and media engagement in Tokyo were facilitated by Dr. Fusao Tomita, the Nippon BIC director and the Council for Biotechnology Information in Japan (CBIJ) currently headed by Dr. Masahiro Suzuki. The event was held at Belle Salle Yaesu on February 2 and gathered more than 100 participants composed of media, policy makers, and the academe, an impossible feat on a Monday in Japan. Dr. Suzuki opened the seminar and provided information on the activities of CBIJ, followed by the presentations of Dr. James and Dr. Hautea. Dr. Tomita presented the current status and views of GM crops in Japan. A short meeting with the media was also held immediately after the seminar.

Dr. James at the media seminar in Tokyo.

HANOI, VIETNAM

Brief 49 was presented at a conference held at the Sofitel Hotel in Hanoi, on February 3. Hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and AgBiotech Vietnam, in cooperation with ISAAA, the conference was attended by more than 100 regulators and scientists from science, environment and agriculture ministries, members of the academe and research institutes, representatives of businesses, associations and media agencies.

Dr. James presented the global status of biotech/GM crops. Dr. Hautea discussed the application and benefits of biotech corn in the Philippines, while Dr. Mahaletchumy Arujanan, Executive Director of Malaysian Biotechnology Information Centre (MABIC) highlighted the role of the media in providing correct and objective information about biotech crops against the misconception of this technology.

Heads of ministries graced the occasion, including Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy,  General Director of Department of Science and Technology of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; and Prof. Dr. Trinh Khac Quang, Director of the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Discussions on the Q and A revolved around management of biotech seeds after commercialization and effective methods of communication on biotech crops to the public.

Dr. James is joined by Dr. Le Huy Ham (left) and Dr. Vo Tung Xuan (right) during the seminar in Hanoi.  

BANGKOK, THAILAND

Thailand’s Biosafety and Biotechnology Information Center (BBIC) Director Dr. Supat Attathom and Biotechnology Alliance Association (BAA) head Dr. Nipon Lamsupasit led the seminar in Bangkok held in Century Park Hotel on February 4. 119 participants composed of media, policy makers, the academe, and the industry attended the seminar. Simultaneous translation during the seminar was supported by BAA.

The seminar which featured presentations from Drs. James, Hautea, and Arujanan  was opened by Prof. Dr. Yongyuth Yuthawong, the Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, who also met with the ISAAA team at breakfast. The country has permitted field trials of GM crops and is looking forward to commercialization. Former agriculture minister Thira Sutabutra also attended the seminar.

Dr. Hautea and Dr. James is joined by Dr. Arujanan in Bangkok.

YANGON & NAY PYI TAW, MYANMAR

Myanmar Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (MOAI), the National Economic and Social Advisory Council (NESAC) co-organized the ISAAA seminars held in Summer Park View Hotel, Yangon on February 5; and at Thingaha Hotel, Nay Pyi Taw on February 6.

At the Yangon media conference, Dr. Sein Hla Bo, Presidential Economic Advisor to the President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar chaired the seminar. More than 30 media representatives and members of the academe in Yangon attended the briefings by Dr. James and Mr. Bhagirath Choudhary, ISAAA Director for Strategic Initiatives.

The Nay Pyi Taw seminar was attended by more than 50 government representatives, policy makers, members of the academe, and media representatives. Dr. Ye Tint Htun, Director General of Department of Agriculture presided over the seminar with presentations from Dr. James, Mr. Choudhary, as well as from Dr. Khin Thida Myint, professor at Yezin Agricultural University who discussed the progress of GM crops in Myanmar, and the possibility of developing collaborative project on other crops important to food security in Myanmar. Prof. Daw Than Than Nu of the Department of Industrial Crops Development shared the achievement of Bt cotton and the development of new promising Bt cotton variety Ngwe Chi-9, to be released in the near future. It was notable that Dr. Ye Tint Htun, Director General of Department of Agricultural Research of the MOAI invited ISAAA to help them access new biotechnologies and facilitate technology transfer to Myanmar.

Dr. James (center) and Mr. Choudhary (second from left) at the seminar in Yangon.

DHAKA, BANGLADESH

Dr. James was joined by the Honorable Minister of Agriculture Matia Chowdhury who gave a message in the seminar in Dhaka held at the Bangladesh Agricultural Council (BARC) on February 8.

The event was co-organized by Bangladesh Biotechnology Information Center (BdBIC) Director Prof. Dr. Khondoker Nasiruddin and ISAAA in partnership with BARC and ABSP II (Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project II). Dr. James and Mr. Choudhary were joined in the forum by Dr. Md Rafiqual Islam Modal, Director General of BARI; Prof. Dr. Md Shahidur Rashid Bhuiyan, Pro VC of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University; Dr. Abul Kalam Azad, Executive Chairman BARC; Prof. Md Shadat Ullah, VC of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University and Mr. Md Eunusur Rahman, Secretary of Agriculture who each gave short message during the program. Around 450 participants from the scientific community, agricultural universities, different government departments, industry, seven media outlets who recorded the event, and a dozen print and online media attended the seminar.

Hon. Minister for Agriculture Matia Chowdhury was chief guest during the launch in Dhaka.

JAKARTA, INDONESIA

The seminar in Indonesia was attended by 150 stakeholders consisting of scientists, academicians, policy makers, farmers, journalists, and entrepreneurs. It was held on February 11, 2015. Dr. James shared the recent global developments in biotechnology. It was organized by the Indonesian Biotechnology Information Center (IndoBIC), ISAAA, Ministry of Agriculture, and National Outstanding Farmers Association (NOFA), and supported by the Indonesian Society for Agricultural Biotechnology (PBPI), CropLife Indonesia, and SEAMEO BIOTROP.

Dr. James also highlighted a significant development in biotechnology in Asia, saying that Vietnam and Indonesia are close to the commercialization of biotech crops, which is expected to begin in 2015. Dr. Ir. Hasil Sembiring, General Director of Food Crops of the Ministry of Agriculture represented the Minister to deliver the opening remarks on that event.

Speakers and moderator of the seminar in Jakarta (left to right): Prof. Agus Pakpahan, Dr. Hautea, Dr. Teng, Dr. James, and Ms. Veronica Moniaga.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES

The Manila launch of Brief 49 highlighted the continued expansion of biotech corn in the country. A media conference, co-organized with the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), was held on February 27, at the InterContinental Manila Hotel in Makati City. 

Speakers at the conference include ISAAA Board Chair Dr. Paul S. Teng; Dr. Hautea; ISAAA Senior Program Officer Dr. Rhodora R. Aldemita who presented the global status of commercialized biotech/GM crops in 2014; and Bukidnon farmer Mr. Edgar Talasan, who expressed his eagerness to plant an upcoming biotech crop, Bt eggplant. Representatives from government offices, scientists, and members of the media attended the seminar.

ISAAA Senior Program Officer Dr. Rhodora R. Aldemita presented the global status of commercialized biotech/GM crops in 2014 during the seminar in Manila.

More information about ISAAA's Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2014 are available at ISAAA website: http://www.isaaa.org/resources/publications/briefs/49/default.asp. Various information resources, including the Executive Summary, Top Ten Facts about Biotech/GM Crops in 2014, Powerpoint slides, infographics, and videos are all available for download from the same link.

For more information about ISAAA, visit http://www.isaaa.org/, or follow ISAAA on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/isaaa.org) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/isaaa_org).

ISAAA Brief 46 Publications, Videos

ISAAA's Brief 46, Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops in 2013, written by ISAAA founder and emeritus chair Dr. Clive James, has reached over 3.7 billion media impressions 2 months after its global launch. The number of media articles has increased to 2,231 in the same period of time, with Brief 46 materials translated into 45 major languages, reaching 72 countries worldwide.

The two-page highlights of the full Brief 46, "Top Ten Facts on Global Biotech/GM Crops in 2013 has been translated and now available in 53 languages. The languages are: Amharic, Arabic, Bahasa, Balochi, Bangla, Bicolano, Bisaya, Brahvi, Bulgarian, Burmese, Chichewa, Chinese, Chitumbuka, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Ewe, Farsi, Filipino, Finnish, French, German, Hausa, Hindi, Hungarian, Igbo, Ilokano, Japanese, Kabyè, Khmer, Korean, Luganda, Malay, Pashto, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Sindhi, Siraiki, Slovak, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese, Welsh, and Yoruba. The translations are available for download at: http://bit.ly/1gCIRmS.

The Executive Summary, a 13-page document summarizing information on hectarage, adoption, and benefits of biotech crops in 2013, as well as its future prospects, is now available in 12 languages: Arabic, Balochi, Brahvi, Chinese, English, Farsi, French, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, and Ukrainian. The translations are available for download at: http://bit.ly/1j7TcIV. 

ISAAA Brief 46 is also summarized and presented in four videos: 

• Dr. Clive James, author of the 2013 Report gives the whole overview of the Report in a 10 minute video available at http://www.isaaa.org/resources/videos/globalstatusreport2013/default.asp; 
• A 4.5 minuter on highlights in Africa can be viewed at http://www.isaaa.org/resources/videos/globalstatusreport2013/africa/default.asp; 
• A 6.14 video on highlights in the Americas at http://www.isaaa.org/resources/videos/globalstatusreport2013/theamericas/default.asp; and  
• A 3.09 summary on highlights in Asia by  Dr. Randy A. Hautea, ISAAA Global Coordinator and Southeast Asia Director, is available at http://www.isaaa.org/resources/videos/globalstatusreport2013/asia/default.asp.

More information about ISAAA's Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2013 are available at ISAAA's website at http://www.isaaa.org/resources/publications/briefs/46/default.asp. Various information resources, including the Executive Summary and its translations, Top Ten Facts about Biotech/GM Crops in 2013, Powerpoint Slides, Infographics, and videos are all available for download from the same link.

For more information about ISAAA, visit http://www.isaaa.org/, or follow ISAAA on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/isaaa.org) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/isaaa_org).

Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops 2013 Seminars in Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Philippines

A month after the international launch of ISAAA's 2013 Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops in Beijing, 10 countries in Asia have held their respective launches and media seminars. ISAAA's monitoring of the tri-media shows that one month after the international launch, Brief 46 has been mentioned in 1,933 news articles and 1,777 social media posts in 77 countries with a total impression data of 2,147,275,067.

Our previous blog posts discussed the country launches in China, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar. The following are summaries of the events in Indonesia, Bangladesh, and the Philippines.


BANGLADESH

In Bangladesh, the seminar/launch for ISAAA Brief 46 was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh on February 26. The event was highlighted by the keynote speech of Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury. Minister Chowdhury said that "Being an overpopulated country, we will not hesitate in using biotechnology if it is proven to be useful and safe for human, animal and for the environment." She urged scientists to develop new crop varieties through frontier research using biotechnology to combat the environmental hazards like salinity, drought, submergence, and cold.

Bangladesh Biotechnology Information Centre (BdBIC) and ISAAA, in collaboration with the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) and Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) organized the seminar which was attended by around 350 policy planners, academicians, researchers, extension officers, research students, and journalists.

Dr. James (third from left) is joined by Minister Chowdhury during the launch of Brief 46 in Dhaka.

INDONESIA

The Jakarta, Indonesia seminar was held on February 28, and was attended by 128 people. Dr. Mahaletchumy Arujanan of Malaysia BIC joined Dr. Clive James and Dr. Randy Hautea by giving a presentation "Communicating Agri-biotech: Scientific Accuracy vs Popularized Myths." Two interviews for release on television were conducted featuring Dr. Clive James.

Drs. James and Hautea was joined by Dr. Arujanan during the launch in Jakarta.

PHILIPPINES

A media conference was held on March 6, 2014 at Dusit Thani Hotel, Makati City, with more than 60 people in attendance, composed of multi-media journalists, members of the academe, government agencies, private sector, non-government organizations, and local government units. At the conference, ISAAA Chair Dr. Paul Teng talked about food security and how biotech crops help contribute in various aspects of food security, such as improvement of nutrition and agricultural productivity. ISAAA Global Coordinator and SEAsiaCenter Director Dr. Randy Hautea presented the global status, trends, and significant benefits of biotech crop adoption.

Resource persons of the media conference in Makati are (Left to right): DA Undersecretary Segfredo Serrano, ISAAA Global Coordinator and SEAsia Center Director Dr. Hautea, ISAAA Chair Dr. Teng, SEARCA Director Dr. Gil Saguiguit, and Former University of the Philippines President and UPLB Chancellor Dr. Emil Q. Javier.

More information about ISAAA's Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2013 are available at ISAAA's website at http://www.isaaa.org/resources/publications/briefs/46/default.asp. Various information resources, including the Executive Summary, Top Ten Facts about Biotech/GM Crops in 2013, Powerpoint Slides, Infographics, and videos are all available for download from the same link.

For more information about ISAAA, visit http://www.isaaa.org/, or follow ISAAA on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/isaaa.org) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/isaaa_org).

Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops 2013 Seminars in Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar

ISAAA’s 2013 Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops, also called ISAAA Brief 46, has been launched in 7 countries in Asia since its international release in Beijing, China on February 13, 2014. Close monitoring of the tri-media shows that two weeks after its launch, Brief 46 has been mentioned in 1,312 news articles and 1,057 social media posts in 66 countries with a total impression data of 1,148,573,861.

The previous blog post discussed the country launches in China, South Korea, and Japan. Following are summaries of the events in Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar.

VIETNAM

In Vietnam, around 126 representatives of media (radio, print, and online), universities, government agencies, and private institutions and companies attended the seminar at Hanoi’s Sofitel Plaza, where Brief 46 was launched on February 20, 2014. The author, Dr. Clive James, presented the highlights of the report including the benefits and future prospects of biotech crops. Other speakers include ISAAA Global Coordinator Dr. Randy A. Hautea, who discussed the impact of biotech corn in the Philippines; ISAAA Chair Dr. Paul Teng talked about food security; and Malaysian Biotechnology Information Centre Executive Director Dr. Mahalectumy Arajanan made a presentation on how to communicate biotechnology.

Dr. Clive James at the media conference in Hanoi on February 20.

THAILAND

Around 100 representatives from radio and print media attended the press conference and seminar held at the Rama Gardens Hotel in Bangkok on February 21, 2014. Dr. Clive James, author of Brief 46 was asked about GM food safety and biotechnology for biofuel production.

Dr. James at the seminar in Bangkok with Dr. Sutat Sriwitanapongse (left) and Dr. Supat Attathom (right) from Thailand Biotechnology and Biosafety Information Center.

MYANMAR

On February 24, 2014, Brief 46 was launched during an agriculture seminar in Nay Pyi Taw, the new capital city of Myanmar. Myanmar's Union Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, H.E. U Myint Hlaing was present at the seminar and stressed the importance of adopting the appropriate modern technologies including biotechnology in crop production. The event was organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (MOAI) in collaboration with the National Social and Economic Advisory Council (NSEAC) and ISAAA.

Dr. James presents a replica coin of Dr. Norman Borlaug Congressional Gold Medal to Union Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation H.E. U Myint Hlaing in the presence of Dr. Tin Htut Oo, Chairman of National Economic and Social Advisory Commission and Dr. Tin Htut, Rector of Yezin Agricultural University.

The Minister said “Given the limitation in current activities in plant biotechnology, we have to extend the research activities of plant biotechnology in the near future of which strengthening of technical capacity and human resource development is crucial."

A media conference was also held in Yangon, Myanmar on February 23, which was attended by around 40 tri media practitioners and the private sector.

Updates on the events in Dhaka, Bangladesh and Jakarta, Indonesia will be posted here next week.

More information about ISAAA's Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2013 are available at ISAAA's website at http://www.isaaa.org/resources/publications/briefs/46/default.asp. Various information resources, including the Executive Summary, Top Ten Facts about Biotech/GM Crops in 2013,Powerpoint Slides, Infographics, and videos are all available for download from the same link.

For more information about ISAAA, visit http://www.isaaa.org/, or follow ISAAA on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/isaaa.org) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/isaaa_org). 

Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops 2013 Seminars in China, Korea and Japan

Since 1996, during the first year of commercialization of biotech crops, ISAAA has released the annual “Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops”, a Brief documenting the latest information on the global status of commercially approved biotech crops. Year after year, ISAAA prepares the Brief and supports its free distribution to developing countries to provide information and knowledge to the scientific community and facilitate a more informed and transparent discussion regarding the potential role of biotech crops in contributing to global food, feed, fiber and fuel security, and a more sustainable agriculture.

The 2013 Global Status Brief is the 18th such publication in its series, and documents the global database on the adoption and distribution of biotech crops in 2013, when 18 million farmers from 27 countries worldwide planted 175.2 million hectares of biotech crops. Below are summaries of the country launches held for ISAAA's 2013 Global Status Brief.

CHINA

The 2013 Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops Brief was launched at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) in Beijing, China, on February 14, 2014. The launch was held during the Crop Biological Breeding Industrialization Summit 2014, an event attended by more than three hundred participants from China’s scientific and academic community, government agencies, private sector and media. The summit featured a seminar by Dr. Clive James, author of the Brief and ISAAA’s Founder/Emeritus Chair. ISAAA’s Chair Dr. Paul Teng, discussed Food Security: A Defining Issue for Asia.

Dr. James at the media conference in Beijing on February 13.

On February 13, a day before the summit, the Brief was also launched at its first media conference in Beijing, attended by 40 journalists from 35 media outlets. Dr. James was interviewed by China’s CCTV News, China Business Journal, China Economic Observer, Caixin Media, QQ.com, China National Radio, Health News, and Science News Bi-weekly. Journalists from international media outlets such as Reuters, Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg News Week also interviewed Dr. James.

SOUTH KOREA

In Seoul, South Korea, Dr. James presented to members of the media the 2013 global status of biotech crops. Around 20 journalists from Seoul attended the media seminar, and asked Dr. James about the status and development of commercialized biotech crops in Europe, climate change and biotech crops, and the possible solutions to public mistrust and awareness about GM crops.

Dr. James delivers his presentation to members of the media in Seoul.

JAPAN

Around 100 participants attended the media seminar in Tokyo, Japan, with Dr. Masahiro Suzuki of the Council for Biotechnology Information in Japan as seminar chair.

Dr. James gives an overview of his presentation to the audience in Tokyo.


For more information about ISAAA's Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2013, visit the website at http://www.isaaa.org/resources/publications/briefs/46/default.asp. Various information resources, including the Executive Summary, Top Ten Facts about Biotech/GM Crops in 2013, Powerpoint Slides, Infographics, and videos are all available for download from the same link.

For more information about ISAAA, visit http://www.isaaa.org/.