ISAAA Brief 51 Launched in Beijing; Media Conferences Held in Six Countries

ISAAA has released the 20^th Brief in its global status of commercialized biotech/GM crops in Beijing, China on April 13, 2016. Brief 51, 20^th Anniversary (1996 to 2015) of the Global Commercialization of Biotech Crops and Biotech Crops Highlights in 2015, authored by ISAAA Founder and Emeritus Chair, Clive James.

Brief 51 companion documents include the Executive Summary, Top Ten Facts about Biotech Crops and a volume of Invitational Essays (Progress and Promise), which are designed to celebrate the 20^th Anniversary of the commercialization of biotech crops during the twenty-year period, 1996 to 2015 as well as the 2015 highlights.

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 2015 Global Status Report documents the global database on the adoption and distribution of biotech crops in the world in 2015, when ~18 million farmers from 28 countries planted 179.7 million hectares of biotech crops. Below are summaries of the country launches held for the 2015 Global Status Report.

BEIJING, CHINA

Brief 51 was launched in the ISAAA Press Conference in China World Hotel Beijing on April 13, 2016, attended by 30 representatives of major media outlets (print, online, and TV broadcast). Dr. Paul S. Teng, ISAAA Chair, presented the Highlights of the Report prepared by Dr. James. ISAAA Global Coordinator Dr. Randy A. Hautea discussed the Overview of Biotech Crops in Asia with emphasis on biotech crop planting and regulatory milestones in India, China, Pakistan, Myanmar, Philippines, Australia, Bangladesh, and Vietnam, which has commercialized biotech maize for the first time in 2015.

Dr. Zhang Chun-Yi, Dr. Paul S. Teng, Dr. Randy A. Hautea, Mr. Hernan Viola, and Dr. Dafang Huang at the media seminar in Beijing.

Mr. Hernan Viola, the Agro-Industrial Attaché of the Embassy of Argentina in China, presented an overview of biotech crops and the benefits they generated in Argentina. Dr. Zhang Chun-Yi, Deputy Director General of the Biotechnology Research Institute, CAAS and Prof. Dafang Huang, patron of ISAAA, gave the opening and closing remarks, respectively.

A seminar was conducted on April 14 at the Library of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) where Dr. Gao Caixia of the Institute of Genetics and Biology, CAS, made a timely presentation on Genome Editing: Progress and Perspectives.  Mr. Mark Petry of the USDA FAS gave a presentation on Reconsideration of New Breeding Technology and Biotech Regulation in the US. Some 150 members of the academe, government regulators, industry, media, students and researchers attended the seminar which was co-organized by CAAS, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and the ISAAA China BIC.

HANOI, VIETNAM

Brief 51 was presented at a media seminar held at the Sofitel Plaza Hotel in Hanoi on April 15. The seminar was co-organized by the Agricultural Genetics Institute (AGI) led by Dr. Le Huy Ham. Drs. Teng and Hautea were joined by Dr. Mahaletchumy Arujanan, executive director of the Malaysian Biotechnology Information Center (MABIC), who presented the Overview of New Breeding Technologies and Current Status. Around 100 attendees composed of researchers, policy makers, regulators, industry representatives, and media practitioners attended the event, and received copies of Brief 51 materials that were distributed during the seminar.

JAKARTA, INDONESIA

Mr. Bhagirath Choudhary

The seminar in Jakarta was held in the Ministry of Agriculture on April 19. Dr. Arujanan presented the Highlights of Brief 51, and also made a presentation on new breeding technologies. Mr. Bhagirath Choudhary, director of the South Asia Biotechnology Center based in India presented the Overview of Biotech Crop Adoption in Asia. 

The event was co-organized by ISAAA and IndoBIC, with around 100 members of the academe, media practitioners, and policy makers, including regulators and industry representatives in attendance. Copies of Brief 51 materials were distributed at the close of the seminar.

BURKINA FASO

The ISAAA AfriCenter in collaboration with Africa Seed Trade Association (AFSTA) and the Association Nationale des Entreprises Semencières du Burkina Faso (ANES-BF), a local seed trade association, launched the Brief 51 in Burkina Faso on April 20, 2016. The event was attended by 40 participants that included seed traders, media representatives, government regulators, and scientists. Hon. Henri Koubizara, a member of the parliamentary commission on economic development, environment and climate change was the guest of honor. Dr. Margaret Karembu presented the ISAAA report highlighting the role of seed traders in the adoption and commercialization of GM crops. Local scientists and regulators shared the status of GM crop research and regulation in Burkina Faso, and the West Africa region at large.

Hon. Henri Koubizara and Dr. Margaret Karembu at the launch in Burkina Faso.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES

A media conference organized by ISAAA and SEARCA BIC for Philippine journalists and stakeholders was held at Acacia Hotel Manila on April 29. Dr. Teng presented the ISAAA report for 2015. Dr. Gour Pada Das, Country Coordinator of the Feed the Future Bangladesh, and Dr. ASM Mahbubur Rahman Khan, Chief Scientific Officer of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), discussed the highlights of the Bt brinjal project and commercialization experience, respectively. Over 50 representatives from media, academe, research, and private companies attended the event.

Drs. G.P. Das and ASM Mahbubur Rahman Khan (center) at the Manila launch.

DHAKA, BANGLADESH

In Bangladesh, the Honorable Minister of Agriculture Matia Chowdhury inaugurated the seminar on 20^th Anniversary of the Global Commercialization of Biotech Crops and Biotech Crop Highlights in 2015 at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) in Dhaka, Bangladesh on May 12.

Hon. Minister for Agriculture Matia Chowdhury (center) at the Brief 51 launch in Dhaka.

Resource persons in the seminar included Drs. Hautea and Arujanan, and Mr. Choudhary. Dr. G.P. Das facilitated the seminar which was attended by agriculture officials and members of the scientific community in Bangladesh.  During the seminar, Minister Chowdhury emphasized the need for scientific innovations nd collaborations to improve food production and poverty alleviation in Bangladesh. She also stated that the government is pro-active in adopting biotech innovations for introducing improved varieties to their farmers. The seminar was jointly organized by BARI, BARC, and ISAAA.

More information about ISAAA Brief 51 20th Anniversary (1996 to 2015) of the Global Commercialization of Biotech Crops and Biotech Crops Highlights in 2015 are available at the ISAAA website: http://www.isaaa.org/resources/publications/briefs/51/default.asp. 

Brief 51 companion documents are 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). 

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.